Using buildings year round might be an option

For the third time, the school administration and the school board are extensively (and expensively) advertising a bond. Last time, they said that if we did not approve the bond that the school buildings would be used year round to accommodate increased enrollment. Instead, the administration just extended the day at the high school and began immediately to propose another bond.

Nothing has been said this time about using the buildings year round. Why not? Because if the buildings were used year round, we could accommodate 2000 more students and money for new construction would not be needed for 10 to 15 years.

Note that we are never told that if we used the buildings year round for a number of years, it would dramatically increase state participation in new construction. Go to the web site k12.wa.us and type in “state funding assistance percentages.” According to that web site, the state will pay 69.30 percent of new construction provided we spend no more than $213.23 a square foot and we are building rooms for unhoused students. Unhoused students are those attending classes in portables, the extra students accommodated by extended days, and the extra students accommodated by using the buildings year round. Using the buildings year round is one of several ways to increase the number of unhoused students enough to significantly raise the percentage the state would pay for us.

If we used the buildings year round, the state participation could be increased to 40 to 50 percent. State funds come from money you have already paid. It is available to school districts that do the planning needed to meet the requirements.

Do you want 40 to 50 percent of $144 million to be paid by the state or only 6.5 percent? The administration/school board apparently refuse to consider the possible savings to taxpayers.

Ken Jorgensen

Moses Lake