POULSBO — North Kitsap High, Poulsbo Elementary and Poulsbo Junior High schools and the NK pool/auditorium will soon become part of a larger complex known as the “North Kitsap Regional Center” following the North Kitsap School District Board of Directors approval of a partnership with the Kitsap Public Facilities District Dec. 11.

The incorporated regional center makes North Kitsap eligible to receive Kitsap Public Facilities District funds.

“What we are doing is creating an inter-local agreement between the North Kitsap School District and Kitsap Public Facilities District,” said NKSD Executive Director of Finance and Operations Nancy Mofatt. “What that allows us to do is apply for some regional funds (for the center).”

The primary requirement to create the center in North Kitsap was to have at least $10 million invested in the existing site. The KPFD gave the school board a check for $5,000 at the board meeting Dec. 11 — the first of a new line of funding in which the KPFD receives a small portion of sales tax revenue.

“It’s very important because there isn’t a promise of money, there’s the possibility of money,” said Anne Blair, administrator for the KPFD.

In effect, the NKSD and KPFD agreement plugs North Kitsap into a larger system for funding, Mofatt added.

State law requires locations that are eligible to be incorporated into regional centers do so before Jan. 1, 2004, so the timeline for the school district is tight. But well worth it, said Mofatt.

“Any time we can form partnerships it really is to the benefit of the community,” Mofatt commented.

Two other regional centers already exist in Kitsap County: The Conference Center at the Bremerton Harborside and the Kitsap Fairgrounds and Events Center. Both have spurred economic growth, Blair said.

“(These projects) are a major infusion with lots of partners,” Blair said. “It’s really an economic development boost.”