Guest Opinion: For 54 Cents or Less

By Barbara Kline
Superintendent/Principal, Orcas Island School District

For five years we have been studying the condition of our buildings. Thanks to the many experts who have worked with us, and the many committees we have all served on, we know what needs to be done to our facilities for the future health and safety of our students and we know that it will never cost less than it does now.

In five years of study we have carefully considered the needs of all of our students and of the programs that serve them. We have looked at enrollment trends, and preschools, spaces needed for English Language Learners, special education, Readiness To Learn, Farm to Cafeteria, Title 1, technology, and vocational or Career and Technical Education. Over five years, we have looked at every class and every program and carefully calculated the numbers of students who use our spaces now and will into the future.

From our experts, we know how much the needed work will cost and that it will never cost less than it does now. That cost is 54 cents per thousand of assessed value. The cost may be less than 54 cents per thousand, depending on the final interest rate. Given the current market, our estimate of and interest rate of 5.1% is likely to be to high and so the final cost to the taxpayer may well be less than 54 cents per thousand.

For 54 cents per thousand we will get a safe and healthy facility that totals about the same square footage as it does now but has been redesigned to be safer, more efficient and long lasting.  Spaces that we have now will be reconfigured and repositioned so that vocational or Career Technical Educational classrooms that are scattered about will be collected under one roof, sharing spaces and equipment which they cannot do now.

For 54 cents per thousand we will get repairs to the elementary the high school, the old gym and Waldron Elementary.  We will replace and reconfigure the library, middle school, woodshop, home economics room, music room, cafeteria, kitchen, and several shared middle school and high school spaces.

For 54 cents per thousand, we will get excellent facilities that will be energy efficient, long lasting structures serving our students well for many years to come.  I predict that when this project is done, our island community will be proud of our campus as we are now of our students’ performance.

You can be sure that we will spend 54 cents per thousand very carefully because we have demonstrated that we can.  In five years, we have built our reserve fund from less than 10 thousand to over 400 thousand through sound financial management. We are not wealthy, but we are financially healthy and therefore able to employ many members of our community.  A financially strong and academically excellent school district is an enormous asset to our community and a very good investment.

Please join me in voting YES for the future of our students and of our community.