Mill Creek’s students need your help.
Everett School District officials are asking voters to approve two critical items Feb. 7:
• Renewal of the district’s four-year maintenance and operations levy.
• A $199 million capital projects bond.
The bond is a big bite, in fact the biggest ever for a Snohomish County school district, but officials are caught with two pressing but different needs.
In the north end of the long, skinny district, 40-year-old buildings are coming to the end of their life cycles.
In the south end, the Mill Creek area, the district is faced with exploding growth and the prospect of demand exceeding capacity in the next three years.
The bond plan has plenty to address the south’s needs, including:
• $25 million for a new elementary school on the grounds of Gateway Middle School in Silver Firs.
• $17.8 million to buy land for another new elementary and one new middle school somewhere in the greater Mill Creek area.
• $108.3 million for several modernizations, including Silver Lake Elementary.
• $18 million for other miscellaneous projects such as new windows at Jackson High School, upgrades to ventilation systems at several schools and a new gym floor at Woodside Elementary.
Meanwhile, the levy would replace the current property tax assessment that expires this year and accounts for 20 percent of the district’s operating budget. Levy money is more than icing or even cake, it is the basic ingredients from which quality schools – and students – are made.
Yes, $199 million is a lot of money, but these are the same children who will grow up, take jobs, raise families and become the community. Education is the ticket to a better life, and it is a ticket we must buy for them.
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