It’s time to replace worn-out buildings | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 12:49 pm Friday, January 29, 2016

To the editor:

The Bainbridge Island School District is asking for your support for a school bond that will pay for critical repairs and replacements to Blakely Elementary School, the Career, Technology and Arts facilities at Bainbridge High School (the 100 Building), and other facilities throughout the district.

Please join me and vote YES for our schools.

Our school kids and teachers do a great job of making the most of those old dilapidated school buildings. But our kids deserve better than cold un-insulated walls and single-pane windows, little natural light, leaky roofs, cramped tech stations, failing plumbing and electrical systems, inadequate earthquake safety and floor plans that do not maximally protect our kids in this unfortunate age of school violence.

Almost 50 years old, Blakely and the 100 Building are now worn out beyond their serviceable life. Modern code requirements mean that it will cost almost as much to renovate these buildings as to replace them entirely.

Financially, this makes sense. New buildings reduce energy/operating costs, providing more dollars for classrooms. Interest rates are still near 40-year lows and construction costs are rising. Delaying these critical projects will only increase taxpayer costs.

Our children deserve this, and we can afford this. Total school taxes are projected to increase by only $175 per year over current 2015 levels (for median assessed-value home).

Let’s build innovative, state-of-the-art facilities for our kids and keep our community vibrant and our real estate values strong.

For more information, go to www.bipss.org. Please vote yes on Proposition 1.

BRUCE WEILAND

Bainbridge Island