Letter to the Editor: School District Needs Met by Brownell, Anderson

To the Editor-
What great news that Senator Ranker was able to secure $1 million dollars for our school district’s capital needs. I greatly appreciate his efforts on behalf of Orcas.

Thanks also are due to School Board member Janet Brownell, who, in her role as legislative liaison, kept Senator Ranker up to speed on OISD issues and the recent School Building Rehabilitation Drive that was led by Marilyn Anderson.

Marilyn and eighteen generous neighbors joined together to contribute $100,000 through the Community Foundation to the school district for capital repairs earlier this year. Their donations have come back to the community tenfold, as Senator Ranker noted that this show of community support helped secure the additional $1 million.

Thanks to all who helped bring this to fruition. It is a remarkable and much needed success story for our school and our community.

Hilary Canty
Orcas Island Community Foundation

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2 Comments

Janet Brownell April 21, 2012 at 3:33 pm

Thanks Hilary — it truly was the whole community that brought this needed funding to our schools. Here’s what Sen. Ranker said: “At a time when Capital funds are increasingly scarce, I am particularly proud to secure $1,000,000.00 for the Orcas Island School District for critical repairs and upgrades that will increase longevity of our school buildings while making them more energy efficient and safer for our children. In the end, it was the community support for our schools through levies and private donations that made the difference. It is always easier to secure State Capital Funds when the community is also doing their part. Thanks to the Orcas Island community for making it easier to do something good.”
Page Bristow April 21, 2012 at 5:49 pm

Wow! A million dollars! It certainly was a leap of faith for the School Board to decide to do what was needed to fix the buildings last year; and I believe they and the community deserve to be so, so, proud.
As a former resident, former teacher in the Orcas Island School District (1997-2001), a sometime summer resident, and a property owner on Orcas, I deeply care about what happens on Orcas. My deepest respect goes out to every one of you who made this happen! Thank you so much. See you this summer!