USD 108 should move ahead with building projects
My editorial from this week’s Washington County News:
The time is now for USD 108 to invest in its future
When is the best time to invest in the future? That is the question being asked by the Washington County school board about the proposed new ag and woods building and expanded fitness facility at the school.
The USD 108 board members have expressed support for the project on principle, but some of the board members question whether now is the time to do it. With the ongoing commentary about state budget cuts to education, and no real forecast for when the economy will recover, some wonder if the project should be delayed until things turn around.
On the other hand, the district does have the money for the project. As a result of the district’s effort to save money gained from the state incentives for the consolidation of the Washington and North Central districts, with plans to use it at some point for the improvement of the school facilities, the capitol outlay fund has been built up and is available for this major improvement project. Much planning has gone into the project and all it needs to move ahead is the okay from the board.
There is legislation pending that might allow school boards to take a portion of the capitol outlay funds and move it back into the general fund, but if approved that portion would be a small chunk of the effort and probably wouldn’t inhibit the project from moving forward.
So should unfortunate timing be a reason to continue to hold off the project?
I say no.
The board and administration has done a good job planning for this project. The funds were being saved for an intended purpose of improvements for the district and they have a project drawn up that would do that.
The state is in a budget crunch, but the students that were from the North Central and Washington districts went through their own crunch when they consolidated schools and now they could receive one of the benefits of that action. Any school district that would have gone through the process in the past few years would be in much better shape today than schools who have not – they shouldn’t be blamed for taking progressive action before the budget crunch hit.
The district has gained 17 students since the official count in September, which gives confidence in future enrollments and these facilities would benefit almost all students in the district at some point during their career.
And even if the bottom suddenly falls out of the state’s economy and the legislature makes drastic cuts threatening the existence of small schools across the state, there should be no fear that these facilities would be built for a non-existent future (like the gyms in Cuba or Axtell). USD 108- Washington County has the advantage of having an assured future because of its location and size as compared to many smaller schools in the Twin Valley League. If schools start closing, Washington County Schools will see growth.
So I’ll ask the question again. When is the best time to invest in the future? Right now. Construction costs are probably less now than they ever will be in the foreseeable future and this project would bring an economic boost to the community while construction workers are here. The kids that went through the consolidation process deserve to see the fruits of that effort and the projects would be beneficial to everyone, rather than wasteful and centered on a select group.
The USD 108 school board meets again on April 12. Talk to one of the school board members before then and tell them you support moving ahead with the project now as a positive investment in the school’s future.
If you keep waiting for the “right” time, you may never get what you want/need. Will the community be able to use the wellness center? That would be very nice.
very well written and I totally agree with you. Now is the time.
Now is not the time. If they go ahead with this building project and then have to cut either staff or programs later on if the legislature makes more cuts to education, it looks very bad.I understand about the capital outlay fund and all of that, but I still think it looks bad to build something new while the possibility of layoffs is looming. In a community this size, if you lay off people you are hurting the community economically.
I’ve heard that argument, but who does it “look bad” to? Surely not the kids being served by the district.
The district has done a good job of saving money for this project.
If you saved money for a new car, and that car would be beneficial to you, would you put off buying the car just because of the bad economy?
If the district hadn’t saved the money, and was talking about trying to pass a bond or something, then I’d understand a delay. But that is not the case.
Will the community get to use the fitness center also??
Community use of the fitness center has been discussed, but I don’t know if a decision has been made either way. If that is something you’re interested in, however, please talk to a school board member.
Your taxes pay for the school, so as far as I’m concerned, the community should have some sort of access to school facilities.
I agree. That would be very nice for the Washington community to have for use.
It’s a shame that a whole lot more than the ‘Washington community’ will be paying for it.
I think the extra money they “saved” should be returned to the state and/or given back to who they got it from: the taxpayers. If schools only used money they needed to spend (not just wanted to spend), it would go a long way to solving the fiscal crisis in this state. Just because you can spend it doesn’t mean you should. Can anyone actually argue they “need” to spend this money?
When the new grade school was built, I seem to remember a plan B was to take place. There was to be a building north of the grade school to house the fourth, fifth and sixth grade. These students now walk back and forth in every kind of weather. I would like to know whatever happened to the plan???????????? I would also like to comment that if jobs are lost population and young adults will be lost from our community. I thought we were trying to attract young professional people to our community. We need to wait and see how much money the legislature is going to allow schools to take from capital outlay and place in the general fund so some jobs can be saved.
I have no problem with the project moving forward. Provided the board knows where cuts will be made if cuts need to be made. In the past some of the programs mentioned as being cut were Ag and Industrial Arts. It would seem silly to me to build a new building to house both of these programs and then be forced to cut them in the future. An empty building serves no one
students, patrons, no one!!!!!!!!
OK…I have big issues with this subject. How can anyone justify this HUGE expense for such a silly reason when in the next breath they are talking about cutting staff because of budget issues?? It really boggles my mind! I feel strongly about this because school is for learning. Sure it is great to have all the extra activities, but if we have to cut, it is the extra things that should be cut…not the education! It is absolutely ridiculous to me that we are even talking about this…and by the way, we were in the North Central District before the consolidation. I also feel like people that aren’t in our 108 district don’t really have a right to demand what we do within our district.
Demand?
If you’re talking about my editorial, it is an opinion, not a demand. I own a business and building in the 108 district and pay taxes here and employ people who live here and have sent or will send kids to USD 108. And if you’re not talking about my editorial, then ignore the previous couple sentences.
But anyway, I don’t see how you think the ag ed/woods building project is not an educational effort. They won’t be playing sports in the building or anything. It will be an educational facility that will allow an already stellar program to grow. I think they’re doing great with what they have, but the kids deserve a better facility. And the curriculum taught in those classes will have direct impact on preparation for jobs for these kids (and with the success of the FFA program, it has the potential for college scholarships too!)
The fitness center will probably be thrown into the sports category for the anti-sports crowd, but look at America’s epidemic of disease caused by our unhealthy, overweight conditions – I think kids should be pushed even harder to stay fit and live healthy lifestyles. So I guess I consider the fitness center project along those lines rather than just a weight room for sports teams.
Again, just my opinion, but I think the projects are anything but “silly”.
I wouldn’t say the projects are silly, but now is not the time. It’s not like the school and students don’t already have facilities for those purposes now; they do. They may not be the most up to date or roomiest facilities, but they still fill the students’ needs very adequately at this point. When a person can log on to the USD 223 website and see the cuts proposed by members of that district’s communities because of the difficult financial situation our Kansas legislature has put us in, it’s almost obscene for USD 108 down (or up) the road to be considering these projects at this time.
Because of the Washington-North Central consolidation four years ago, USD 108 and USD 223 are in very different situations. You’re also comparing a two K-12 district to a one K-12 district. You’re comparing a mid-size 2A to a small 1A. Both have enrollment declines, but it looks like 108 has some pretty nice-sized kindergarten classes coming in while Linn and Hanover do not (unless you consider 12 to be a big class).
It is not an apples to apples situation and I don’t think 108 should make decisions for their district based on the financial situation of USD 223. I’m pretty sure USD 223 does not make decisions based on anything 108 does?
Agreeing with Mammafirst and Ben. Now is not the time! OK, don’t compare 108 to 223. Look at most all schools in the state, How many are looking at cutbacks in programs they offer, personell they employ, etc.???? Ag-ed/woods might be worthwhile but a fitness center? Dan, if you want to get kids in better shape, how about taking away their tv’s, computers, games and such and running them out of the house? A few outdoor activities would do lots of kids a world of good, not to mention a few adults.
If now is not the time, when is?
I constantly have people ask me if I plan on moving back to Washington and what I think should be done to encourage young families to move back. Well, if you really wish to know my opinion, I think new things have to be done. If a family wants to move to this county, do you think they would be encouraged to move to Washington if we hadn’t built the new school, new park, new pool, or possibly this new fitness center/ag building? When is the ‘right time’ for a declining town to make an effort to improve itself? If our government/citizens sat around during the recession and hoarded all it’s money because it wasn’t the ‘right time’ to spend, then we’d be even further in depression… or uh, recession…
Let’s face it, if Washington hadn’t built any of these new things relatively recently because they cost tax payers money, then what would we have to offer new families? Personally if I was looking to move to a small community, I would be encouraged by the faith that Washington has by building these nice, new projects and at least making an effort to provide kids with the best that can be offered.
Or we can just take all the money from taxes and return it to the payers, not make an effort to improve the community, and let Washington die like pretty much every other small town in Kansas.
Just my humble opinion.
Well said Casey!
Dawn
YES, Casey, very well said. Just hope it doesn’t fall on the usual deaf ears.
I totally agree with Casey, as a past Art/Woods student and a current Ag/Weight Lifting student I would love to have classes in this new building. I believe that we should have more room in the weight room. There are lots of students who like to use the weights room but the limited amount of space makes it harder to lift and could possibly be a safety issue. A new ag shop would also be great, I LOVE FFA and would enjoy a new place to study for contest and an improved plant care system. I also believe that any Art or Woods student would like a new place to have their classes. The preschool would also improve by having more room for their classes and therefore be able to teach more children.