The vote was unanimous when the Bainbridge Island School District Board approved a $42 million bond to be put before voters on May 19.

Many citizens may ask, “Why this bond, and why now in this economic environment?” Some may worry that no matter how big the problems, we can’t possibly afford to fix them now.

We believe there is no better time to bring this project to the community. Approval will allow us to build a new elementary school and fix the worst problems in our other aging facilities without an increase in our annual school construction property taxes over 2009 levels.

By taking advantage of a construction environment where materials and labor are less expensive, we get more for our money. Money that is now used for maintenance and repairs of aging facilities can be redirected toward teachers and direct education support.

Moreover, a new school built with green technologies reduces our operating costs and frees even more money for direct classroom needs. It also improves the health of our children and our environment.

With the goal of a level and manageable taxes for the community, the school district has timed the proposed new bond to coincide with the retirement of existing debt.

This strategy gives us a unique opportunity with this next bond to leverage our excellent credit rating for a favorable interest rate while capitalizing on the savings of the stressed construction environment.

Despite the general impacts of the economic downturn there is no better time to maximize the value of community investment in both tangible assets and education in a sustainable way for individual tax payers…and at no increase in the average annual school constructions taxes.

Of course, the primary goal of this bond is to give our kids the environment they need to learn and be successful in school. Currently, the HVAC system, septic system, roofing, electrical systems and overall building condition of Wilkes Elementary School undermine the learning environment.

The high cost of maintaining and heating the outmoded structure removes thousands of dollars from the general fund each year. We have learned from expert building evaluations and new construction estimates that the cost of renovating Wilkes approaches the cost of replacing it.

After months of discussion and many hours of dialogue with district and community participants, the school board believes the community has a unique opportunity to substantially improve school facilities at considerable cost savings through the proposed May bond, while still maintaining a level tax burden.

Patty Fielding, director

BI School District Board