Community support at forum

Thank you Citizens Forum for hosting last night's discussion on neighborhood schools. I didn't count heads, but it looked to be about 30 0r 40 people, from various parts of the community, geographically and demographically.
People had some very thought-provoking statements, and good ideas about neighborhood schools. The consensus appeared to be that neighborhood schools are important for the whole community, people are concerned about their future and wondering why the school district and school board are making some decisions.

Some key points:

* Looking at the utility of a building is not the same thing as assessing how we educate children. A school's efficiency is about how many children it graduates, not its utility costs.

* Once neighborhood schools are closed, that property can't be regained. As the population grows, these classrooms will be needed again, and current state laws and property values won't allow the school district to repurchase these neighborhood-central pieces of land. Once they're gone, they're gone forever.

* We can already see the impacts of removing a school from a neighborhood. York children used to walk to Carl Cozier Elementary, but about five or six years ago, were redistricted and bused across town to Lowell. The demographics of York have changed as a result, with fewer families choosing to buy homes there, and about half of the homes rented to college students. A real estate agent pointed out that questions about schools are in the top three asked when people are looking to buy a home, and even people without children choose homes in school-centric neighborhoods.

* The costs of putting up new school buildings on the edge of the city, or outside city limits, goes beyond the construction costs. The city has chosen not to annex the property that includes the new Wade King elementary because of associated costs including putting in a new fire station, building roads and sidewalks, etc. While the Aldrich Road school site has recently been annexed, it faces similar future funding problems, as it sits at the border of the Meridian School District, and is unlikely to capture as much growth. This is not good long-term planning. The city, county and school district need to work together on this.

* The Bellingham Comprehensive Plan includes language throughout the document that requires schools to be retained as a key part of neighborhoods and the community. This is required by the state's Growth Management Act. The school district should adhere to the requirements
of the city and state they're in.

* When neighborhood schools are shut down, people with wealth decide to send their kids to private schools, draining the public school system of students and monetary support. Historically, Bellingham's neighborhood schools have had the support and children from these wealthy families; this is already starting to change.