In less than a month, those of us in the Snoqualmie Valley School District (North Bend, Snoqualmie, Fall City and surrounding areas) will be asked to vote on a $209.2 million school bond.

Many of us have moved into this incredible Valley with our families over the last 10-20 years. It is our children who are filling up the schools. In the early ’90s when many of us moved into the Valley, the North Bend area was growing and we were the new folks on the block. Right now, about 50 percent of the student population, and just under 50 percent of the voting population, lives in North Bend.

While new construction is currently most pronounced in Snoqualmie, growth has occurred in all communities of our 400-square-mile school district; and when the water moratorium lifts, North Bend will again see its share of new construction contributing to the growth of the Valley.

At Mount Si High School, we are already at capacity and many of our elementary schools are also feeling the crunch. Based on enrollment projections, around 4,000 more children are headed into our schools over the next 12 years. At the same time, school construction costs are rising at a rate of 12-15 percent per year.

We cannot afford to wait to build the new schools we already know we need. The time is now, the children are here and we need to act. Delay will cause more overcrowding, larger class sizes and higher costs for construction. We have had a great track record over the past decade or more of supporting our schools and the school district has been a good steward of the money we have invested. Let’s keep that legacy going for our own children and for those still to come. Someone did it for us, now it’s our turn.

A 60 percent super majority is needed to pass all school bonds or levies. This is an election where your vote really does count and our kids are counting on each and every one of us.

We appeal to all Snoqualmie Valley residents; those who have lived here for decades to those who are just moving in to our beautiful area. Please take the time to vote and vote “Yes” for our upcoming school bond on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Each and every child in our beautiful Valley deserves room to learn.

Lyn Seydell and

Jane-Ellen Seymour

North Bend