The South Whidbey School Board has finally reached a consensus on the timing for a bond measure to help pay for the move of Langley Middle School students to the high school campus.
District officials decided Wednesday to put a bond issue on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. The amount of the bond is estimated to be in the $20 million range.
The school board also made clear that the middle school will be shut down by 2012 and all sixth- through eighth-grade students will relocate to South Whidbey High School by September of that year. While there had been earlier talk of moving sixth-graders to the primary school, Wednesday’s decision marked the unambiguous end to alternative consolidation schemes.
District Superintendent Fred McCarthy said the bond measure would pay for more than just the school consolidation effort.
“The money will be used to repair and upgrade problem areas in all our buildings, and to prepare the high school to be a good learning environment for our children,” McCarthy said.
School Board Chairwoman Leigh Anderson asked about the timing of the bond issue.
“I’m in favor of going to voters in November, with the back-up of a February [2011] vote,” she said.
After a good deal of discussion, fellow members Fred O’Neal, Jill Engstrom and Rich Parker agreed.
The board voted 4-1 last summer to close LMS, but district officials have faced a groundswell of opposition ever since.
The ensuing discontent forced school officials to examine a range of differing options. Among the alternatives considered were moving sixth-graders to the primary school, shutting down Bayview School or phasing out the district’s home-schooler programs.
Seeking consensus from the one member who voted to keep LMS open back in July, Parker asked board member Steve Scoles for his view.
“I don’t see why we can’t wait until February or even longer, but I’ll go along with the November plan,” Scoles said.
At that point, McCarthy put board members on the hot seat.
“The message I’m hearing is that the board has elected to close LMS and move forward with a vote on the bond issue in November,” he said.
Parker noted that the decision was made 10 months ago, and there was a sense of urgency in getting the consolidation plan moving.
But Anderson asked if it was necessary to so clearly state the board’s intentions.
“Yes, it is,” McCarthy answered. “There are still those who want to obstruct the plan you chose, and we must make it as clear to them as possible.”
If McCarthy was hoping for definitive guidance from the board, he got it.
“Sometimes, the time comes when you have to drive a stake in the ground,” Anderson said. “We have to do what’s best for our students.”
Molly MacLeod-Roberts, a parent with two children in district schools, said later the board made the right choice.
“They made it perfectly clear they will be closing LMS and moving students to the high school,” she said.
“And the vote on the bond is in November. They are being responsible, given the state of the school’s budget and the financial realities they’re facing,” she added.
