MUCH IS AT stake in the upcoming elections. In Clallam County, which is now our nation’s sole bellwether county for the presidential race, your vote does matter, so please be sure to fill in that ballot when you get it, sign it, and turn it in or mail it back in – postage already paid.
This election also presents a golden opportunity, without adding to our tax burden, for those of us voting on the Port Angeles School District propositions 1 and 2. Proposition 1 is the district’s periodic levy to continue important and valuable educational programs that are not funded by the state (music, sports, the stuff that rounds out our kids and keeps them off their smartphones and away from other potential vices).
Proposition 2 is the district’s next step in its 30-year capital building replacement plan, this time a bond, which local voters first favored when it was introduced four years ago.
The wisdom, detail and thoroughness of that 30-year plan was lauded then by the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, which represents nearly 400 local businesses. That first step, your approval, resulted in better securing our school buildings, an all-weather playing field and the total replacement of Stevens Middle School, which should be fully funded with construction starting next year.
The other reason for our support four years ago was the district’s promise to level off the tax burden and not allow it to rise while the 30-year plan was being implemented.
Propositions on this year’s ballot, combined, honor that promise.
When local voters approved the school district’s levy four years ago, it allowed our community to access the $18.4 million in state taxpayer funds earmarked for new school buildings in Port Angeles. If we had rejected the levy four years ago, that $18.4 million would have gone to a different community in the state.
This time around, the amount of funds on the table, again earmarked for new school buildings for our community, is about double that amount: about $36.5 million. We only need to vote “approve” to get it.
Our outdated schools, built in the 1950s and ’60s, are difficult to keep safe and secure, full of asbestos, and becoming more expensive and impossible to maintain as each year goes by.
Prior to approving the 30-year plan in the last election, our community hadn’t invested in our school buildings since 2003. While it’s perfectly fine to be proud of our historical buildings in Port Angeles, our old schools are a different story. Their deteriorating state impacts us economically and civically, as they are not built to withstand significant earthquakes, cannot serve as shelters during disasters, and they are challenging to keep safe and secure — especially the high school, which was originally designed as an “open campus.”
The chamber of commerce supports the school district’s operational levy and capital bond because we care deeply about our community. Through the many events and programs we produce for the community, we invest a great deal of our time — and the volunteer time of many gracious, fellow citizens — into keeping Port Angeles as extraordinary as the natural environment in which we live and work. We view rebuilding our old schools as the most important necessity for our future.
Let’s continue to invest in our school buildings without increasing our tax burden. Let’s not leave that $36.5 million on the table for some other community in the state to enjoy.
The Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce strongly urges a yes vote on Proposition 1 and “approve” on Proposition 2.
Thank you for investing in our local community and believing in our future – for the love of Port Angeles.
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Marc Abshire is the executive director of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce.