Building process fully transparent

Regarding the Sunday letter, “Building costs need second look”:

The representation of Superintendent Larry Nyland and his staff being dismissive of the writer’s requested information is totally inaccurate, as is the technical data in the letter.

Unlike the writer, the district merely wished to verify and provide accurate and unbiased data and needed time to track down that information, seeing that the construction manager and district superintendent that oversaw the building of Granite Falls High are no longer with the district.

According to the architect on that project, the construction costs for GFHS came in at $260 per square foot. The Marysville School District is currently estimating construction costs for Marysville Middle School at $202 per square foot. Both are the costs of construction and don’t include the ancillary costs of outfitting the school.

Marysville has three layers of oversight when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. There is the independent construction management company hired by the district to oversee the bidding process and cost containment during construction. There is the Bond Oversight Committee that meets every six weeks to also review those numbers, and finally there is the state of Washington.

The projects covered in the upcoming bond issue have been on the districts’ needs list for many years. We are currently experiencing one of the best times in recent history for a school district to be bidding construction projects. Because of the administration’s hard work laying the foundation for our district’s future, they are ready today to move forward and could begin construction this summer. Let’s be prudent investors and take advantage of the current marketplace. A commitment today will save millions in the future.

Vote yes for the bond and levy.

Stephen C. Muller