Letter to Editor | Vote Yes on School Bond and Levy

— from Randall Gaylord for Citizens’ Committee —

We are a citizens’ committee urging voters to say, “Yes” to the school bond and levy in the upcoming General Election.

We are pleased that the school board has listened to the community and split needed improvements into TWO initiatives. The first is a bond. The bond will address critical health/safety upgrades that were included in the February bond (i.e. repairs to the HVAC and plumbing in the high school). It also adds improvements deemed essential by the community: the paving of the HS parking lot and a thorough renovation of the “Old Gym.” The community was clear it did not want to see another “phase” of critical school improvements. These will address needs well into the future.

The total price of the bond is about $10.8 million to be paid over 20 years at a cost of about 29 cents per $1000 valuation.

Removed from this bond is rehabilitation on the fields, and preparation for a new track. That work is addressed in the second initiative: a levy. The district’s fields are in desperate need of repair. This levy will cover the cost of fixing them. It will also pay for prep work to a new track. The track will be paid for from a gift by Phyllis Henigson as a way to honor her late husband Bob. Bob also left an endowment to the school district. Payout from that endowment will be used to maintain the track. Track, or no track, the fields need to be rebuilt.

The total price of the levy to pay for the field renovation is about $1.6 million to be paid over six years at a cost of about $.11 per $1000 assessed value.

We welcome the opportunity to provide more information. For more information about both the bond and levy, please visit the website www.orcasislandschoolsbondandlevy.com.

Signed,
Randy Gaylord
Pamela Wright
Janet Brownell
Patricia Slabaugh
Diane Boerstler
Blythe Simpson
Cathy Ferran
Eric Webb
John Fleming
Miriam Ziegler
Hilary Canty
Susan Stoltz
Kathy Morris