Letter | Current school bond is not the answer
Published 3:37 pm Tuesday, January 27, 2015
I believe taxpayers have an obligation to support necessary school improvements. However, we should also demand responsible spending, since we are the ones asked to bear the tax burden; in this case, $244 million.
Without argument, our school district needs an elementary school. Enrollment projections reflect our growth and elementary schools are the hardest hit. Unfortunately, the $35 million needed to build a new elementary school is just a small piece of the bond.
My real concern is with the largest portion of the bond, $190,000,000 to rebuild Mount Si High School. The proposed bond does not address the projected growth beyond eight years of the school opening. We may see another mega-bond in the next decade to address these shortcomings:
Not economical — The plan only increases high school capacity by 200 students. At a price tag of $190,000,000, while increasing the school portion of our property taxes (on average) by 50 percent, compared to 2014 rates.
The current high school is structurally sound; it was heavily renovated 20 years ago. It could use a refresh, but not for nearly $200 million. The board wants to move the successful freshman campus back to the high school, yet keep the freshmen in their own building; $190 million to move them one block?
Not long-term or comprehensive — The district’s demographer projects high school enrollment to be within 200 students of maximum capacity on opening day, and eight years after opening, it will be at capacity, with no room to add portables. I do not understand how this translates into a long-term, comprehensive solution.
Inadequate land, parking and fields —Mount Si High School is situated on 30 acres. New high schools require 40 to 50 acres to provide enough building space, parking, and sports fields.
Building a much larger school on an undersized parcel leaves us short on parking, and doesn’t provide adequate sports fields for the number of students and teams needed to support a mega-high-school sports program.
The land surrounding the school is all residential, homes in the floodway, leaving no room for growth.
Lack of teacher support — Last spring, teachers were shown the new high school proposal and their feedback was overwhelmingly against it. Additionally, the teachers union has not endorsed the bond.
We need a true long-term solution; unfortunately this is not it. Please vote No, and let’s ask the board to remove the high school from the bond proposal until a better long-term solution is found.
More information on these issues is available at www.svsdbondmeasure.blogspot.com.
Rebecca Mueller
Fall City
