Schools performing, deserve support

OUR OPINION

The Newport, Cusick and Selkirk school district all have three-year Educational Programs and Operations levies on the ballots that go out this week.

We believe all three deserve voter support. Public schools are a cornerstone of the community, with the buildings used for a variety of activities, in addition to extra-curricular events. They are rented for meeting places, Pend Oreille Sports Association uses the sports fields and the Veterans Standdown is hosted at Newport High School, for example.

The three public school districts have all produced competent graduates, many of whom have served the county over the years.

Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee and former sheriff Alan Botzheim were Selkirk graduates.

In Cusick, Kalispel Tribal Business Council Chairman Glen Nenema, a Cusick graduate, has served as tribal leader for more than 40 years. The Newport Laundry, the new laundromat, was started by Cusick graduates.

And Newport has many productive graduates, including county Prosecutor Dolly Hunt, Newport School Superintendent Dave Smith and Pend Oreille Public Utility Financial Director April Owen, along with many teachers including David Bradbury, as well a host of current teachers who are graduates.

The schools have been forthcoming with the financial reasons for their request to voters for funding. These are far different times than when many were in school. The world is a more complex and fast moving place in which good schools play an important role in educating tomorrow’s citizens and leaders.

We acknowledge the sticker shock with Newport’s multi-million dollar bond request to support their buildings and grounds. But as explained in reporter Gabrielle Feliciano’s coverage, just as with any capital investment, it costs money to replace the HVAC and a roof that’s at the end of its life. Buildings deteriorate in 45 years of Northeast Washington’s winters and hot summers.

It seems likely that it will cost less to maintain the current facility than either doing the required work later or replacing the high school altogether.

The schools deserve voter support for now and for the future. While the students who are in school today may not be your children, they are your future doctor, lawyer, plumber, pastor, contractor, road worker and postal carrier.

-Don Gronning, Editor -Michelle Nedved, Publisher