Friday, May 28, 2010

District was clear about levy intentions


By LONNIE BARBER

An article ran in the May 7 issue titled "Judge approves borrowing on levy." The article outlined Judge Robert Elgee's approval of the judicial confirmation sought by the school district to proceed with projects outlined in the strategic plan and the subsequent facilities levy committee. This approval allows the district to proceed with planned projects that include high-performance heating and cooling plants, whose installation is aided by a $4 million grant from the federal government. They also include a much-needed addition to Bellevue Elementary School as well as a maintenance facility to house our equipment, supplies and food storage.

Part of the article quoted Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich as saying he felt "hustled" and that he felt the school district should have made its intentions about borrowing on future levy funds clear to the public. Mayor Willich went on to say, "I think the taxpayers in Blaine County got maneuvered."

As the superintendent of schools, I beg to differ with the mayor. During the run-up to the levy, I spoke to Blaine County taxpayers at over 20 venues. I believe we were clear in our expectations and our language regarding our intent to move forward with these projects. I did speak to these community meetings about borrowing against the levy at zero or very low rates (through the stimulus funds) to leverage the down economy at the earliest possible time and to aid our community by putting local contractors and subcontractors to work on these projects.

The ability to begin these projects now will not only save money on increased construction costs in the future, but will also dramatically reduce our maintenance and utility costs now and forever. These projects are also the environmentally responsible thing to do. The energy savings that will be realized from these projects, combined with the most favorable building climate in some time, have set the district up to realize significant savings on these important projects in both construction costs and energy savings.

We have been in meetings with local contractors, subcontractors and architects to ensure that our local labor force is the driving force on our future projects. Within the past two weeks, our board of trustees has hired four local architects to begin the design of these projects. Our expectations are that the local construction industry will supply the bulk of the needed manpower for these projects.

In closing, I would like to say that I find Mayor Willich's statements about the funding of the levy to be both counterproductive and damaging to our community. The Blaine County School District appreciates the support that our citizens and patrons have shown us. It has been and remains our intention to use the funds generated by the levy to support our schools and programs and to do this using local labor and talent that will in turn allow us to give back to our community.

Lonnie Barber is superintendent of the Blaine County School District.




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