Upgrading and renovation needed

Editor:

The largest component of the Mukilteo School district bond proposal is the complete renovation and upgrading of both Mukilteo and Discovery Elementary schools.

Both Mukilteo (ME) and Discovery (DI) Elementary schools are operating well beyond their designed capacities.  Portable classrooms have been added over the years to accommodate more students, but the core facilities have not been expanded.

The projected growth in the Discovery area will only compound the problem.  In addition, Mukilteo Elementary is among the oldest primary schools in the district, and its design no longer supports today’s teaching techniques. 

DI is just a few blocks north of Mariner HS, serving eastside families.  ME is located just above Old Town Mukilteo, servicing north Mukilteo and nearby Everett families.

You may not realize that in addition to accommodating education, all of our schools serve the wider community.

Our schools accommodate various sports club use, be it Little League, Youth Soccer, or Lacrosse. In addition, they are utilized by the Boys and Girls Club, Scouts, YMCA before and after school programs, student foreign language classes and art classes.

Gym space is a problem at both schools. PE and three lunch periods have to be accommodated daily.  School programs have also increased to a level our citizens may not realize.

For example, ME has a fabulous orchestra program that involves over 100 elementary students, this in addition to choirs and band! There is not enough room in the gym to accommodate performances when you take into account the entire orchestra and audience. The addition of multi-purpose rooms will have a tremendous impact on alleviating all the scheduling and space problems these schools have with PE, lunch, music, accommodation of community programs, and other school sponsored classes and events.

Both DI and ME have a great need for “focused learning spaces”. It is critical that we have the areas to support our students who require focused classes such as basic math and reading, and ELL (English Language Learners). Neither DI or ME can appropriately accommodate for this type of learning.

DI in particular is a Title 1 school with a very diverse population including many high needs students. Additionally, parent volunteers at both schools have no place to take students for small group or one on one teaching.

Currently, hallways are used, but they are most often noisy and busy, not conducive to learning. Fire codes also limit how the narrow hallways can be used.

Although portables have been used for a long time in the district, the problems they incur at some schools are frustrating. According to Roz Schott, principal at DI, the portables are too far from the main building, and they have no running water or restroom facilities, which causes issues about student safe passage to and from the main building.

Passage of this bond will alleviate these problems and more, including the electrical, issues and heating and ventilation problems. Both schools will have the space they need for regular education and specialized education needs.

Please be assured that if this passes, there will be opportunity for community input on the renovation plans. Be assured that our regions design and building needs will be addressed with the use of architects who specialize in northwest school design.

Please help ensure that the changing needs of these schools are met by voting YES by May 20!

Sue Davis

Leita Garside

Tania Halladay

Citizens’ Team for Mukilteo Schools

Rosehill: Values and traditions

Editor:

RE: Guest view of Mr. Dave Emerson, et al, and The Beacon for the disrespect to Mr. Tony Tinsley, council member, for remarks stated by Mr. Emerson, printed in The Beacon on March 26, 2008.

Tinsley was sworn in to keep the people of Mukilteo knowledgeable of facts and conditions, regardless of the outcome of the election. Example: saving of $4,275,624 versus estimated costs for new construction.

I don’t remember Dave Emerson appearing at or commenting on the presentation by a respectable engineering company, which stated “concrete walls and steel beams could not be surveyed because of cost, but when added, if found in need of replacement, would add considerably to present estimate.” I don’t think Mr. Emerson has any factual costs or conditions about earthquakes, maintenance costs or survival of Rosehill.

Rosehill is 90 years old. A new center wouldn’t last 45 years unless tons of money is spent to keep the building useable. Mr. Emerson indicates the new facility would bring in more money; as he said, “more dollars per square foot.”

I thought that Rosehill or a new facility was a benefit for the user tenants. The city would naturally place Rosehill operations in the Parks and Recreational budgets. Rental fees would not establish profits.

Mr. Emerson, there is or will not be any squandering of money spent on fixing Rosehill. As long as you are critical, why don’t you castigate the present and past officials for taking ten to fifteen years to vote?

So what does it cost more than $10,000 a month to delay? With the present recession, then maybe remodeling will cost less. I don’t know of any elected local, county, state or federal office holders resigning because of “the vote.” As a matter of fact, after the federal tax reduction a few years back, legislators and others are still fighting it and the tax revenue has had a plus for everyone.

Cities that are smaller in population, sometimes have several heated feelings – why? Because voters are more knowledgeable of local government activity.

“In Europe, they take care of historical places, turn them into monuments. And here we bulldoze them to make room for something new. I’m not sure that’s what you would call progress.” – Bob Feller, baseball Hall of Famer, on the demise of Yankee Stadium.

Where were members of the Historical Society before the vote? Rosehill: Values and traditions!

John R. Hayes

U turns on Speedway

Editor:

Pretty much every day I drive to Mukilteo to a printing company on Mukilteo Speedway that I do business with. When I am making a U turn at the corner of the Speedway and Chennault Beach Road, 99 percent of the time the drivers coming from Chennault Beach Road and making a right turn onto the Speedway DO NOT STOP at the red light. I believe this a.m. (April 28) there was an accident there.

Well, I have had so many close calls there it’s downright scary. But today I had the ultimate.

A young male in a black Ford Explorer totally went through the RED light at roughly 20-30 mph. He almost smashed into my right rear fender then he proceed to give me the finger!!

Something needs to be done about this corner and soon before someone is really hurt.

Maybe a red sign that says no right turn that lights up when the opposing lane has a turn arrow. Would love to see some policing at the corner rather than the usual radar trap a block south.

Dave Rogers

Seattle

A great way to start

Editor:

Recently I attended a conference in Seattle of more than 90 Catholic Church leaders from around the United States, those charged with implementing programs to ensure safe environments for children and youth in our parishes and schools.

The theme of the conference was "From Compliance to Conversion," highlighting the need to offer such programs not because we have to, but because we recognize the pressing need to do so.

One statistic continues to startle me: That by age 18, one in four girls, and one in seven boys, will experience some form of sexual abuse: a reminder that this is a societal problem, not one limited to the Catholic Church.

What if the whole community — public and private — set as its goal the total elimination of childhood sexual abuse?

What if our first step to do so was to lobby our Legislature to ensure that all schools — public and private — have the resources needed to offer research-based prevention programs, and then hold our schools — public and private — accountable for offering the needed training to our children and youth?

Wouldn't that be a great way to start?

If not us, who? If not now, when?

Rev. Robert Siler

Diocese of Yakima

A vote against ourselves

Editor:

I recently moved into the area, in part because the Mukilteo School District has a reputation for providing quality education. Now I’m hearing that there are people who intend to vote no on the Construction Bond for a variety of reasons.

Some may disagree with decisions the district has made. Others say it doesn’t affect them because they don’t have kids or send their kids private schools. Still others just don’t want the tax responsibility.

I encourage everyone to take a look at the big picture.

Our area is going through a period of tremendous growth, and now the schools are in desperate need of expansion and upgrades. There’s little more important than protecting the quality of education here, because it is directly related to our overall quality of life. 

We live in a fabulous community and if we don’t support our schools by voting yes, all of us in the community will suffer. A vote against the district is a vote against ourselves.

If we don’t step up and say yes to schools now, we will start to see a domino effect that will negatively impact our society.

A no vote does so much more than just assure our children will attend school in crowded classrooms and receive a substandard education. A no vote seals the fate of our community.

When we vote yes for schools, we vote yes to protect our most valuable assets – our children, our property values, our quality of life, and our future.

Kim Dwan

Picnic Point Elementary Parent