Where are all the students?

Bainbridge Island schools are seeing an unexpected enrollment dip as the new year gets under way.

An unofficial nose count puts the district at 3,894 full-time equivalent students in grades K-12 – about 75 students fewer than anticipated, budgeted and staffed for.

The most precipitous drop appeared to be in island grade schools, where about 50 students fewer than anticipated showed up for classes. Bainbridge High School appeared to be about 15 students under projections.

The official count will take place this week.

“There may be some adjustments,” Superintendent of Schools Ken Crawford said, in a memorandum to the school board last week. “However, I am not optimistic we will realize the budgeted figures.”

The district staffed Bainbridge schools based on conservative projections, Crawford said, with the expectation that additional monies would be made available as more students showed up.

That now appears unlikely.

Budget tightening might be necessary, he said, although finances and staffing “should be manageable for the immediate school year.”

Of greater concern, Crawford said, is the declining enrollment pattern that’s running contrary to demographic studies done by the district in recent years.

The board was expected to discuss updated enrollment figures at its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Sakai Intermediate School library.

Inslee critical of surge report

Bainbridge Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee this week criticized testimony given by the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Congress is debating this week’s testimony by General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker regarding the progress in Iraq following the troop surge that began last February.

“Whether we leave in six weeks, six months or six more years, the result is going to be the same,” Inslee said. “We’ve got to get over the Six-Month Syndrome – that if we just stay another six months with another 600 American soldiers dead, that somehow democracy suddenly will blossom in Iraq.”

Inslee, who voted against the war five year ago, has been a vocal opponent of White House policies.

He did admit there were a few scant signs of progress, but that lack of substantial gains meant there was still a need to create a timetable for troop withdrawals.

“We may have had a reduction in violence in some parts of Iraq, but we haven’t advanced in solving difference between Shiites and Sunnis in the last six months or five years.

“No amount of the administration’s smoke and mirrors can hide one fundamental fact: that there hasn’t been political reconciliation in Iraq, just a continuation of the president’s ruinous policies.”

Touted as a the means to secure Iraq and allow for political maneuvering and reconciliation, the controversial troop surge sent an additional 30,000 US troops to the region between February and June.

Petraeus testified that the increase in U.S. troop levels had reduced violence and that a measure of success is possible in the fragmented country.

He believes troops from the surge could start coming home in the middle of next year.

Inslee wants a firm deadline for troop withdrawals.

“The destiny of Iraq cannot be decided by American soldiers – it only can be determined by the Iraqi people and their leaders,” Inslee said.

“That’s why we need a timetable for redeployment in an orderly fashion.”

Garage plans to be reviewed

The results of a Winslow parking garage feasibility study will be unveiled this week by a team of planners and downtown property owners.

The workshop will precede tonight’s City Council meeting and is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The study, commissioned by the council in March, aims to determine the cost and feasibility of a garage.

It encompasses financing, access, public amenities and the potential size, scope and specific location of the structure. The most likely scenario is a public-private partnership between downtown business owners and the city to build a garage somewhere near the civic plaza, where the Farmers’ Market is held.

The study does not include specific architectural elements or possible uses of the top level of the garage, which planners said would likely be at-grade with the current civic plaza and would still serve as a public space.

The team last presented their work in July, saying a garage would likely cost as much as $12 million.

Planners in the past have said the future of Winslow hinges on parking, and some worry that a lack of parking downtown could lead to the loss of anchor tenants like Town & Country.

Capital plan on the docket

City Councilors tonight will discuss the city’s six-year Capital Facility Plan, which outlines the city’s coming capital needs.

The 203-page CFP is required by the state as part of the city’s Comprehensive Plan. It weighs all of the city’s capital needs – like roads, public buildings and utilities – against its revenue.

The biggest project on the horizon is the $20.6 million Winslow Way streetscape project, set for construction in 2009, which will repair failing underground utilities and update the surface of the street. The project, along with a $9 million police and court facility, make up almost 30 percent of planned capital spending between now and 2013.

A public hearing about the CFP took place at the Aug. 29 council meeting, and included criticism by some about possible overspending. Since its introduction in July, the CFP has been trimmed by $83 million, and now stands at $101 million.