ROYAL SCHOOL BOND

I have been going to the Royal School facilities meetings, off and on, for a few years now. I recognize the time and effort it takes, to leave your family, work and the many other responsibilities we all have.

I want to thank all the dedicated people on the committee, the school staff, administrators, school board members, and community members who have spent many hours working on the school overcrowding issue for a long time now. I don't believe that anyone on that committee, whether they be an employee of the district or a citizen, has an agenda of fleecing the community or scamming anyone.

I appreciate that our existing buildings have lasted and served us well for decades and will continue to do so. I hope the same forward thinking will prevail to do it right the first time as I truly believe it is most cost effective to do that.

I have worked in portables in other districts that had been in place not even 10 years, and they were already a huge maintenance headache. The walls didn't support the shelving and had constant repair needs. Mr. Jannett mentioned that Wapato has had disappointing results with their prefab school buildings. However, I have not researched this nor will I, as I don't believe they are quality enough to merit the financial investment they require.

If you are interested in prefab or modular buildings, please research several districts that have used these options before determining this is the way to go. These buildings will have thousands of students go through them in the coming years, much different usage than a prefab or manufactured home would see.

Some in the community have expressed a desire to find cheaper alternatives to building the same type of cinderblock buildings we now have. Fine, I was at the facilities meeting when many options were put forth. Prefab, manufactured portables, and Old Red Rock were all investigated.

Just because we couldn't find a quality replacement doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Keep in mind the requirements of ADHA and building codes for schools, much different than residential requirements. So please, if you know of great quality lower cost choices, bring your research to the facility committee and share what you discover.

Also, I would like to point out that contrary to what you may be reading or hearing from those who do not favor the bond, no new teachers would be needed to fill the classrooms. Fourth grade teachers would move their classrooms to the new intermediate school, sixth grade teachers also.

Some classrooms would then be used as office space, special classrooms, study halls, small group instruction rooms, or other purposes until the enrollment makes it necessary to hire another teacher and use the space as a dedicated classroom again. This makes sense to me.

Why build anything without planning for future growth? Construction is too expensive to think in such narrow, short time frames. As new students come to the district through entering kindergarten, or moving to the community, our enrollment increases. Our Kindergarten classes have been growing year after year.

When our enrollment increases, we get more money, as would any public school district, to hire the employees to handle the increased enrollment.

I also want the community to be aware that small groups of students needing increased help in certain learning skills are working daily in hallways, foyers, staircases, the cafeterias, the libraries, in classrooms where the teacher is supposed to be having a prep period, and outside when weather permits. It is not ideal to say the least, but our teachers, instructional assistants, and our students do their best to avoid the many distractions around them and learn.

Our buildings are well used in this community, and not only by the school. We don't have a recreation center or YMCA. We use our schools.

They have been well kept and very well used. I am sure if we are able to add the buildings that are being proposed to our campus, they too will also be very well utilized by the district, and community at large, for many, many years to come.

Thank you.

Becky Noftle

Royal City