I voted yes for a win-win bond in North Kitsap

Patricia Bennett-Forman, Poulsbo
·1 min read

I voted! I voted for kids! I voted for the community! I voted yes for the North Kitsap School District bond.

1. North Kitsap students deserve to attend schools that are secure and structurally safe. With the rise in school shootings, school security is a priority. Our students and staff have sufficient pressures without having to worry about building security and structural integrity.

2. Our neighboring districts have passed bonds and are building quality facilities for education in the 21st century. Our North Kitsap community deserves similar schools. Quality buildings attracts residents who value education. Schools with modern equipment and excellent athletic fields enhance the community.

3. Housing projections and current starts will overcrowd Poulsbo, Vinland, and Gordon elementary schools. We will need a new elementary that draws down those populations. Pearson is overdue for a rebuild but has no room to build on the current site while it is in use by students. Given those facts, putting a school between Poulsbo, Vinland and Pearson makes sense.

4. Maintenance projections for Wolfle indicate the district will need to spend around $10M to repair the school without adding needed upgrades or expansion. That is not good use of tax-payer dollars. A replacement of Wolfle will fix this issue too.

If space allowed, I could go on. This bond is a win-win for North Kitsap, for its students, for its educators, and for the entire community. It deserves our support.

Patricia Bennett-Forman, Poulsbo

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: I voted yes for a win-win bond in North Kitsap