As the Woodland City Council continues to wrestle with how to phase in a significant increase to school impact fees, Woodland School District leaders say the fees are less about building a new school tomorrow and more about managing steady growth responsibly.
Impact fees, one-time charges on residential building developers, are set and collected by the City Council. Only the local school district can utilize money collected from impact fees to fund capital improvements to address growth.
Earlier this month, the council sent the planning commission’s recommended fee increases back for reconsideration, asking for a phased approach rather than implementing the full jump at once. The commission ultimately returned its original proposal with only a minor modification, leaving council members to decide how quickly new rates should take effect.
Under state law, impact fees collected by the city are passed directly to the school district and must be used for capacity-related improvements. District officials have requested fees of $10,545.93 for single-family homes and $13,664.57 for multifamily units, up from the current $5,900 rate for both housing types.
During a Jan. 21 meeting, the Woodland city council opted to send the planning commission’s recommended school impact fee increase back for further revision, with most council members saying the proposed jump was too steep to implement all at once. Instead of the gradual increase some council members preferred, the planning commission met again on Thursday, Feb. 19, and voted to send its original proposal back to the council, with one modification: single-bedroom accessory dwelling units would remain at $2,000 rather than increase. Only one commissioner dissented.
In a statement to The Reflector, Woodland School District Superintendent Asha Riley said the fees are designed to ensure growth pays for growth.
“School impact fees are a planning tool intended to help districts manage growth responsibly. When new housing brings new families into a community, it can generate additional students. If that growth requires added capital investment, impact fees are one way to ensure development contributes a proportionate share of the growth-related capital costs,” she stated.
According to the district’s 2025-31 Capital Facilities Plan, Woodland is projected to add 418 students over the next six years. Of those, 164 are expected at the elementary level, 94 at middle school and 101 at high school.
The district currently owns 31 portables, 20 of them serving elementary schools. Many have been refurbished to extend their useful life. If growth outpaces permanent building capacity, students may be temporarily housed in additional portables.
At North Fork Elementary School, where the district anticipates the most immediate enrollment pressure, impact fee revenue is already being used to address capacity.
“Currently, the district has no immediate plans to construct a fourth elementary school. At this time, impact fee revenue is being used to manage capacity through portables at North Fork Elementary, where we anticipate the most immediate growth impact. For perspective, we plan to purchase a single new portable, and the costs at this time are approximately $266,000, not including placement and equipment. Last year, the same portable cost us roughly $20,000 less,” Riley stated.
While the Capital Facilities Plan outlines the eventual need for a fourth elementary school, Riley said that would require more than impact fees.
“It is also important to note that impact fees alone cannot fund a new school. The cost of constructing a new elementary school would require a public vote, typically through a bond measure. Impact fees represent only one component of a larger funding strategy that would also include voter-approved bonds and state construction assistance,” she said.
The district estimates construction of a new elementary school would cost about $28.8 million, with land acquisition anticipated to add roughly $2.5 million.
The capital facilities plan states: “To serve forecast growth at the elementary and middle school level, the District will need to purchase property and construct a fourth elementary school and reconfigure grades so fifth-grade students attend elementary schools, which will provide more capacity at the middle school. Because future growth will require the acquisition of real property for an additional school site and the temporary use of portables, these improvements are listed as facility capacity needs.”
Riley said rising construction costs are the main driver behind the proposed fee increase.
“The most significant factor contributing to the proposed increase is the substantial rise in school construction costs. The formula itself is set. The primary variables are projected growth, student generation rates, and the current construction cost. Inflation has had a pronounced effect on construction costs across the region, and that reality is reflected in the calculation,” she stated.
As council members debate whether to phase in impact fees recommended by the school district and planning commissioners gradually or as soon as possible, Riley states that the issue is one of shared responsibility.
“At its core, the conversation about impact fees is about fairness, how a growing community shares the cost of the infrastructure as developers bring new members into the community,” she stated. “Impact fees are legally restricted to growth-related capacity. They cannot be used for salaries, utilities, or to fix existing facilities. Their purpose is to help ensure that as Woodland grows, our schools can grow with it in a responsible and balanced way.”
Riley said district leaders are committed to working with city officials as the discussion continues.
“The Woodland School Board and I are committed to working collaboratively with the City, Planning Commission, developers, and community members, because we all share the same goal, serving Woodland’s families well as our community grows. School impact fees are simply a planning tool to help ensure that new development contributes to the additional school capacity it creates. There are no immediate plans to build a new elementary school. Right now, we’re managing growth with portables and careful monitoring of enrollment,” she stated.
As of press time, the Woodland City Council is expected to take up the revised impact fee proposal at a future meeting.
