In response to your Jan. 19 editorial supporting all three measures for the Mukilteo School District, I would like to point out that you failed to mention one important matter – potential Paine Field expansion.
I have always voted in favor of school bonds and levies, but for months I’ve attended school board meetings to repeatedly ask, what sense does it make to invest $97 million in our schools if we aren’t going to protect them from the devastating effects of potential expansion at nearby Paine Field? And I’ve followed that question with a request that they assume a leadership role opposing airport expansion and protect the 14,000 children who attend our schools.
The much needed new elementary school at Lake Stickney would be right under the flight path. Similarly, so is Fairmount Elementary. If expansion occurs, what will happen to those schools, and all the other Mukilteo schools in close proximity to the flight path?
School officials should partner with parents and concerned citizens who’ve begun the dialogue about the documented negative effects that airplane noise will have on our children’s health and learning ability. If that’s not reason enough, they should consider the impact of decreased school enrollment, property values and mitigation fees it will take to retrofit Mukilteo schools.
Administrators have included money in this bond issue to update older HVAC systems deemed detrimental to learning because they are too noisy. So how can they justify their silence on Paine Field? If expansion occurs, will we need a fourth high school?
Before I vote yes for the $97.6 million bond measure I am waiting to hear from district officials. I want to know they are willing to protect our schools.
Pamela Spampani
Mukilteo
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