Housing needs are at a critical point in the Tahoma School District. A number of our facilities are in need of repair and improvements to ensure the safety and comfort of our students. These items are often referred to as "warm, safe, and dry needs". They include major maintenance as well as infrastructure improvements. Current resources do not allow for the repairs and improvements. Improvements will require passage of a bond measure or capital levy.

All schools exceed capacity with enrollment anticipated to increase. Tahoma School District enrollment has more than doubled in the past 25 years and, despite two construction bond measures in 1988 and 1997, the district remains overcrowded. An additional 1,000 students or more are expected to arrive by 2020. The most recent successful construction bond, in 1997, met its project goal by providing adequate classroom space through 2005. Facilities built since 1985 with a combination of local bond funding and state construction matching money now represent half or more of the school district's permanent student seats. The 1988 bond paid for the construction of Rock Creek and Glacier Park Elementary schools, the district's central kitchen and the Central Services Center. The 1997 bond built Tahoma Junior High and paid for a major expansion and modernization of Tahoma High School. It also paid for the complete modernization of Shadow Lake Elementary and Tahoma Middle School, along with a new gym and science rooms at Cedar River Middle School.

Despite what was built or improved as a result of those two bond measures, school district facilities cannot keep up with enrollment growth. The district has efficiently used existing spaces, including more than 80 portable classrooms, to house students but its school are at or near capacity. As two citizen advisory committees have confirmed, it is clear that more permanent classrooms and support facilities are needed.

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