Regarding the Tuesday article, “Discussion of new Everett School District offices postponed“:
Quote from the above story: “School administrators, however, say that about half of the costs of the new building would be paid for with state school construction money. …” Half the cost of the new building would be paid for by the state.
This is state taxpayer school construction matching money and should be used for school construction.
The article also reported that district spokeswoman Mary Waggoner said the remaining $11.6 million would come from money the school district has saved.
The school district administration needs to keep in mind that all money in the district coffers is taxpayer money, not theirs to spend as they please.
The article states that school officials say the building can now be built more cheaply because it is a buyer’s market.
All options, including remodel, are cheaper now, not just a new administration building.
Before supporting a new building, the school board president and members should have the following from the administration:
An unbiased needs study.
An unbiased report on options not limited to the following:
1. Keep only Colby campus and rent additional needed space.
2. Sell the Longfellow building property.
3. Remodel the Education Service Center at 4730 Colby and add a 20,000-square-foot addition.
4. Look at an elementary school for possible administration. The total number of students has not grown in proportion with the number of classrooms added over the years.
Dennis Finlayson
Everett
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