Last year, in our Elementary School, an EMT was unable to use water from the drinking fountain to clean a student’s wound. It was unsafe. Children and teachers wore coats in classrooms all winter. The ventilation system produced dirty, not clean fresh air.
Our School Board stepped up, won a $900,000 matching grant to pay half, hoping Orcas voters would approve a $900,000 loan to do the repairs during the summer to allow the children to return to a safe school. A large group of residents encouraged the Board to obtain the loan and many generous residents have committed to raise $100,000 to help offset that loan. Orcas Island is not a third world country.
Proposition 1 is not a $35 million or a $27 million levy to rebuild the schools. It covers only the absolutely necessary repairs to the Elementary School. It will be a ONE TIME ONLY, 1 YEAR LEVY of less than $100 for a $350,000 house – $0.28 per $1000 of assessed valuation. It would have been twice that if our School Board had not acted promptly and creatively to provide a safe, healthful environment for our children.
Vote YES on Proposition 1 and mail your ballot before November 8.
Andrea Hendrick
Eastsound
A levy is not the only way to pay this money back. Final accounting of the costs of the project has not even been done. I heard someone from the school district bragging that the project came in under bid. I wonder how much? Shouldn’t that money be used to pay down this loan? Then we wouldn’t need to have a levy for $900,000 it could be less. In fact a bond would be a more appropriate way to handle the pay back. By the time we go through that process we will know what the actual payoff needs to be. I mean why borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars more than we need to what is the rush?