Lynn Smith and Duncan Macfarlane agree: Bainbridge school facilities need replacing.
But while Smith is set on a 600-seat theater, her competitor for the District 1 seat on the Bainbridge Island School Board, who touts his experience overseeing capital improvement projects as one of his leg-ups in the race, thinks the district needs to scrutinize assumptions in the proposals for a new 100 Building.
“[We need to] be creative with the space and don’t just be tied into, ‘Well, if we’re going to do it, it then, therefore, must have a 3/4 fly because that’s simply what everybody does,’” Macfarlane said.
“I would want to have an understanding of what the 3/4 fly costs, as a break-out piece; is that a $3 million item? Is it a $500,000? Right now, it’s black box is X; the theater is Y. There’s not enough discussion around what the theater should be.”
The debate centers on one of the main pieces of a potential $60.2 million to $80.2 million bond measure for school improvements and a new Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary. In the mix that is still evolving in terms of theater space for Bainbridge High; a stripped down “black box” performance space, a 300- to 450-seat theatre or a 600-seat theatre with 3/4 fly [the theater’s rigging system].
Macfarlane — a business, media and intellectual property lawyer with children at Sonoji Sakai Intermediate and Woodward Middle School — is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, equal opportunity and community involvement.
He’s concerned that the facility upgrade meetings have been so poorly attended; he wants to generate meaningful discourse about the capital bond and engage the large number of stakeholders who don’t have children under 19.
“I really believe if you’re going to have a facility — especially if it’s publicly funded — everybody should be able to use it, the same way we can go play tennis at the high school or use the track,” he said.
Another key priority for Macfarlane is reducing class size. The issue hits close to home — his daughter, a seventh-grader at Sakai — is trying to learn algebra alongside 31 other students.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “There are a lot of people who move to this island because of our schools, and when you read about our schools, we have these 17:1 ratios and 21:1 and then the reality is — how did we get to 32:1? How did this happen?
“Part of [the solution] is to see what work has already been done around this, but I think a big part of it — a way I can help — is to work with the Legislature and the McCleary decision. We need to be fully funded.”
Securing proper funding is also critical when it comes to supporting the district’s highly capable and special needs programs, Macfarlane said.
As an attorney, Macfarlane believes he is uniquely suited for leading this conversation.
“I’m used to reading RCWs and court documents, and I’m used to working at that level,” he explained. “I have the training, and I think that’s a significant thing considering that the school board is a policy-making entity.”
He also sees his status as a non-PTO parent as a major asset.
PTO experience is helpful, Macfarlane said, but the school board is already well-represented in that regard with Mev Hoburg and Sheila Jakubik, who served in various PTO and PTOCC leadership roles.
“I think I bring a different and valuable perspective,” he said.
Smith, however, asserts that her knowledge of the school district, gleaned through her involvement with PTOCC (President, 2014-2015), the Odyssey Multiage PTO (President, 2012-2014), Ovation! Performing Arts Northwest (Board President) and Bainbridge Cooperative Nursery School (Fundraising Chair), is what makes her the better pick.
“It’s hard, just because we both really believe the same things, but I just have a lot of experience,” Smith said.
“I’ve been doing this for years; I know all the players; I know the issues; I know the history of the issues and how they played out for years and years.”
Although Smith described running for school board as a “natural progression,” she said it’s also a leap outside her comfort zone.
“I don’t want to put myself out there because I’m kind of a more shy, quiet person,” she explained. “So it must mean I’m pretty committed if I really want to do this. I just want to help our kids become the best they can be.”
The foremost issue in her opinion is the capital bond.
Smith said a performing arts center “is something that our community needs so badly.”
While her view about the size and scale of the theater has evolved since she first started attending the facility meetings, Smith said her mind is now made up: “I say we go for it. Six hundred would hold a class of students. It’d be nice to have it bigger — but there’s no place to park!”
Smith sympathizes with islanders who are reluctant to front the money for another capital project.
“But the theater, they need to realize, is a community building,” she added. “It can be a win-win. The community can use it for so many things. BPA’s a great little playhouse, but it’s a little playhouse; it’s not built for sound and all the cool stuff it could be.”
Like Macfarlane, Smith is concerned with holding the state Legislature to the McCleary decision, the Washington Supreme Court ruling that found the state had failed to fully fund public education as mandated by the state constitution.
Smith maintains that teachers and classified staff getting their fair pay is one of the top issues facing the district, and explained how the board can be supportive of that — by petitioning the Legislature.
“Push, push, push,” she said.
Special needs and highly capable students are other groups Smith said need to be better supported, and added, “our middle-of-the-road kids are doing great.”
She thinks she can make a difference for them through positive persistence.
“You can talk to people in the district, and just keep saying, ‘Let’s do this! Let’s find a way.’”
The District 1 school board position carries a four-year term. It is an unpaid position.
The candidate chosen by voters in the Nov. 3 General Election will serve in the seat now held by Patty Fielding, a two-term school board director who was first elected in November 2007.
Lynn Smith
Age: 49
Education: BA in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara
Current occupation: Graphic designer
Website: www.votelynn4schoolboard.com
Fun fact: “I ran the San Diego Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The best part was carrying my then 5-year-old leukemia survivor daughter across the finish line with me.”
Duncan Macfarlane
Age: 50
Education: BFA in Music from the California Institute of the Arts; JD from Loyola Law School
Current occupation: Intellectual property, media, business lawyer
Website: www.bisbcandidate.com
Fun fact: “I sang the National Anthem at a Los Angeles Kings [hockey] game.”
