Schools see dip in students
In its first official count of the new school year, Bainbridge Island School District tallied 3,812 full-time enrollment students, district spokesperson Pam Keyes said.
As expected, the number is down from 2007 when 3,892 students were enrolled in the district. This year’s initial count also showed 13 fewer students than the district had budgeted for.
State funding for schools is directly tied to enrollment numbers; counts continue through the fall.
BISD Director of Business Services Peggy Paige said the district may gain students as the year progresses, but should still be prepared for a drop in state funding.
“We have such a small budget that any drop is something we need to look at,” Paige said.
The most significant declines came at the 11th and 12th grade levels. Both classes dropped by more than 30 students from 2007.
Attrition to college Running Start programs likely accounted for a large portion of the decline, Keyes said. The district will know for sure when Running Start enrollment numbers are released in October.
As expected, the student population got a boost at the kindergarten level, where several new classes were added to accommodate newcomers this year. But for budgeting purposes, the state counts kindergartners as only 0.5 FTE.
At all other grade levels, changes in enrollment were very slight, Keyes said.
A year ago the district was surprised when 78 fewer students than expected showed up for the first week of classes, leading to a significant dip in state funding.
Enrollment in the district has declined each year since 2005-2006, when a high of 4,084 students were registered.
Take a big bite of Lynwood
Lynwood Center in its Tudor-esque glory has long served as a both commerce center and a historic island cornerstone. Now, neighborhood merchants have joined for a celebration to bring one and all to the south end, with the first annual Taste of Lynwood.
The event, which runs noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 13, will start off in a family-friendly vein, with a block party featuring games and amusements, a beer garden and live music, including Seattle funk band Soul Provider hitting just the right note.
A wine tasting will take place at Walt’s Market in the evening, as will live music and dancing at Edna’s Beach Café.
For more information about Taste of Lynwood, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 842-3700.
Archives to appear online
The entire historic archive of the Bainbridge Island Review will be made freely available online.
Google unveiled a new project today with the aim of bringing historical newspaper content to the Web.
Sound Publishing, Bainbridge Island Review’s parent company, is among the many companies participating in the project, which will allow users to view digitally scanned versions of historical newspapers.
“We’re very excited to bring the entire history of the Bainbridge Island Review to the Web,” said Sound Publishing President Manfred Tempelmayr. “Projects of this scale are extremely time and resource intensive and we’re thrilled to partner with Google to make this available to our readers.”
The “initiative,” as it was described on The Official Google Blog, will appear as a function within Google’s News Archive feature. No date has been announced for when Bainbridge Island Review’s historical archives will appear.
Meet ‘green’ on Saturday
Renewable power, energy conservation and green transportation will be the focus of the 8th Annual Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference “Positive Energy,” which will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at IslandWood.
The conference, organized by the Association of Bainbridge Communities and Bainbridge Island Land Trust, will feature keynote speaker Rita Schenk, executive director of The Institute for Environmental Research and Education on Vashon Island.
State Sen. Phil Rockefeller will discuss state policy and IslandWood Technology Coordinator Clancy Wolfe will give a presentation explaining carbon footprints. Several moderated discussions will be held throughout the day.
For late registration, contact Connie Waddington at connie.waddington@att.net or 842-9483.
Patriot Day to be observed
Bainbridge’s American Legion will hold a Patriot Day memorial service tomorrow to mark the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. All members of the public are welcome to participate in the event.
Patriot Day is a national holiday dedicated to the remembrance of those who died on 9/11. Traditionally the nation’s flags are flown at half-staff and a moment of silence is observed at 8:46 a.m., marking the first plane crash on Sept. 11, 2001.
The service at the Colin Hyde Post #172 will begin at 12:30 p.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. There will be a guest speaker from the Bainbridge Island Fire Department and discussions on the emergency preparedness of the island.
Bill Beck, commander of the Colin Hyde Post, said the event not only gives the community a opportunity to remember those that died on 9/11, but also those who died in the following years during the war on terrorism. Despite political opinions on the years following 9/11, remembrance, he said, is not partisan politics.
“I think people need to come in order to show solidarity for this country when any part of this country is hurt, we never forget,” he said. “(Coming together) shows, within the city, that we can come discuss these things and support the ideals that we need to be together and support each other.”
– Sean Roach
New life yet for old books
Rather than tossing old books in the dumpster, Bainbridge Disposal is asking islanders to consider giving them a second life.
Bainbridge Disposal’s transfer center is now home to a book donation box for Reading Tree, a nonprofit agency that distributes books to needy libraries and school programs across the country.
The transfer center is located at 7215 Vincent Rd., just off Fletcher Bay Road.
For more information on the Reading Tree program , see www.readingtree.org.
