It is disheartening to read the naysayers’ letters to the editor about the upcoming Port Angeles School District levy.
The maintenance of our schools is meticulously and appropriately planned and implemented.
The conscientious personnel in this district have always done more with less.
To suggest that the school district is hiding something is a baseless accusation.
Strict protocols are followed, and decisions are never made willy-nilly.
Our schools have served thousands of students.
To equate the wear and tear on our school buildings with the wear and tear of our houses is bizarre.
You cannot complain that we have not made the most of our buildings – they were planned and built to have estimated lives of 30, not 60-plus, years.
Every community like ours has public obligations, and meeting those obligations relies on all of us.
We are not the only community with limited resources, and yet Port Angeles currently has no school debt obligations outstanding.
The proposal for updating our schools through this levy and future bonds is justified and appropriate.
ALL citizens (property owners and renters) are responsible for the education, safety, and security of our students and this includes providing for the infrastructure of our local schools.
In Washington it is only possible through our property taxes, not fundraising.
Take your issue up with the state legislature – do not condemn our local students with short-sightedness.
Vote yes on the levy.
Michele Haworth
Port Angeles