March 11th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Good food, good talk, good schools, all a part of the Orcas Island School Board's Bond Community Potluck last night.
Last night, the Orcas High School Commons was filled with a lively group discussing their viewpoints on the Orcas Island School District (OISD)Bond for Reconstruction and Repairs, which recently failed by about a 120-vote margin.
The Bond, which was for $35 million over a 25-year period, was described by many in attendance on March 10 as “just too big.”
Following a community potluck of hamburgers, veggie burgers, juice and “trimmings,” and numerous dishes brought in by guests, the Orcas Island School District Board, Superintendent, teachers, students, parents, architects, builders and other members of the public discussed what were identified as 4 critical questions, summarized as follows:
1) What concerns have you heard from those who did not vote for the bond?
2) What have you heard that would make those who voted no vote in favor of the bond the next time?
3) What questions do you have about the bond?
4) What will get people more involved in the discussion about the bond?
These questions were discussed around each of the tables where 10-12 community members sat. The entire group then heard from each table, and the concerns expressed in their answers were summarized by School Board Member Janet Brownell:
- The Bond is for too much money, especially now
- The Bond includes “wishes” as well as needs — some of the “extras” were enumerated as a track and indirect and contingency costs
- “Breaking Up” the Bond into 2 or several bonds would provide better timing and reduced expense for a construction bond
- Neighborhood groups and increased Internet presence would involve more in the discussion, as would theparticipation of teachers and students.
Brownell added that “trust issues” were also aired, particularly in the areas of sustained maintenance and the commitment to employ local builders.
The OISD Board has scheduled a meeting at 5:30 p.m. today, March 11, to discuss plans to move forward. They will consider both the timing and the amount of a future bond proposition. The meeting is open to the public, in the school library.
Board Member Keith Whitaker described the process of proposing a bond, saying, “The Board listens and responds. This bond was not the board’s agenda, but was put together after [the public] gave educational specifications of what we were told was needed…. This was a plan we heard from concerned community members.
“We will continue to do what the community asks us to do.”
Whitaker also added that some of the concerns have already been addressed, such as a Community Advisory Board for School Construction, which the Board is “committed to make happen in short order.”
People in attendance were reminded that the last time the District went out for a smaller-sized bond for capital construction after a larger bond had failed, (1978) the results were cost “savings” on materials and design that wound up costing more in terms of long-term sustainability.
Local builder Justin Paulsen corrected OISD Board Member Tony Ghazel’s reference to the Middle School Buildings as “not being built to today’s standards.” Paulsen said, “They weren’t built to yesterday’s standards either.”
Ghazel agreed with the correction and said, “In 1978, we got what we paid for — as we go forward, we will make sure we get what we pay for. We can only move forward.”
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March 10th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Every Orcas and Waldron public school student is eligible to submit entries for the First Ever OISD Student Chef Competition. The Farm to Cafeteria Committee needs to received your recipe for the greatest sandwich, soup, dessert, casserole, meatloaf, pasta, omelet, granola, salad or taco in the world by March 19!
Students need to submit a detailed menu which includes ingredients and cooking methods, along with a photo of the item you will be preparing in the competition (if possible and advisable) as well as a written overview of why you feel this item is appropriate, it’s nutritional value, its practicality as an item on the school lunch menu and any other information that will entice its selection to compete. We would also like a short bio of yourself. Be sure to include your name, grade, and contact information.
For complete information on submitting an entry and more details of the competition, go to www.orcasislandf2c.org and click on “Student Chef Competition” to download the guidelines.
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March 9th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
The 2010 Census is underway. I urge you to participate as a complete count will benefit our community greatly. Census data is used to allocate state and federal funds. It is estimated that each individual counted may qualify our community for an additional $3,900 in annual support. In 2000, San Juan County was estimated to have one of the lowest compliance rates in the state with 38%. Our community cannot afford such a low count this time around.
Additionally, Washington State is slated to gain a seat in the US House of Representatives based on this year’s census data. The census count will determine which district gains that seat. Your participation in the count will have a direct impact on that decision.
Forms are being hand delivered by census enumerators beginning March 2. If you are not home, the forms will be left on your door. If for some reason you do not receive a form, copies will be available at the public library. Please make the effort to complete the census. You count!
Hilary Canty
Olga, WA
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March 9th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
The Orcas Island School Board invites the community to a BBQ & Potluck and bond discussion this Wednesday, the 10th, to be held in the High School Commons at 6:15pm.
On March 11, the day following the potluck, the Board will decide when to place the issue on the ballot – April is only one possibility and not a given. This will not be the last chance for community members to make their views known. The Board is committed to seeking public input throughout the design process and will create a community advisory committee to ensure that all voices continue to be heard.
The Board is open to any practical suggestion as to how to reduce the costs of the bond and has already been working towards that end, through bond committee and community meetings, and in consultation with experienced professional advisors, for the past several years. The Board cannot reduce the amount of the authorization that we request of the community based only on potential or possibilities, but that does not preclude us from pursuing any and all cost-savings measures and working to reduce the cost to the community, even after the bond is approved. This is exactly what we intend to do.
The Board has thoroughly explored the use of existing community spaces, but for regulatory and logistical reasons, the use of external facilities is not a workable means of addressing the needs of the educational program.
The amount of the bond was developed by experienced cost estimators who have worked on hundreds of school construction projects. It has been vetted against state averages and is close to $270 per square foot. The bond resolution does not mandate that unspent money be used to pay off the bond, but the Board has made it clear that it is their intention to do just that. There are significant restrictions as to how bond funds can be
spent: they can only be spent on capital projects, cannot be transferred to the general fund and must be spent within a prescribed period of time.
The interest rate of the bond cannot be accurately calculated until the bond passes in the election and it’s put up for sale. As a school building project, which is seen in a positive light by purchasers of bonds, the rate we get will be favorable. The Board intends to reduce the amount of the second half of the bond sale by as much as possible, to reflect whatever cost savings can be achieved during the design process. This will affect the total amount of the bond and the interest. Whatever amount is placed on the ballot, the Board is acutely aware that it will represent a maximum authorization only, not a mandate to spend all of the funds.
The $10 million in indirect costs on the $35M bond amount were not an unknown quantity. This portion of the budget includes many mandated costs, including required contingencies, employing a project manager, permit fees, geotechnical and other testing, as well as other known costs, such as furniture and fixtures for the reconstructed spaces, the fees for the architect, civil, structural and mechanical engineers and other consultants.
The repair and rebuilding of our school facilities is essential. Due to the condition of our aging campus, a 10%+ growth in our student population over the past year, and the increasing importance of offering programming such as Career and Technical (Vocational) Education and OASIS, that will serve all of our students now and into the future, we need to act promptly to provide a safe and effective learning environment.
The economic realities that we are all facing require us to be as prudent and as thorough as possible in our consideration of this bond, and we hope that the discussions at the BBQ and Potluck on Wednesday will be one part of that ongoing process.
We hope you will come and join us in discussing the future of our schools.
Sincerely,
The Directors of the Orcas Island School District
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March 9th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Miss Rose and Her Rhythm Percolators brings the art of the ukulele to Orcas Island this Saturday afternoon and evening
Contributed by Mark Morris
On Saturday, March 13, travel back in time to the earliest days of the Jazz Age with Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators. They’re playing one show only, at 8:00 p.m., at the Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound. Orcas’ Charly Robinson will open the show with a set of her own. It’s a family-friendly, all-ages event. A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit the Orcas Island Education Foundation.
The Seattle-based quartet faithfully re-creates the vintage jazz of the early 1920s to the mid ’30s—the era when this original American music provided a playful soundtrack for the flappers who danced the Charleston and sipped illicit booze in the glitzy underworld of the speakeasy.
Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators play well-known popular tunes that have since become part of the great American songbook and dust off forgotten gems from the early jazz era. Audiences delight at the unabashed romance, the playful humor, and the irresistible swing rhythms. Some can’t help but dance or sing along.
To fully transport audiences, the band members dress in period clothing, share some of the music’s history, and run a slideshow of art and photos from the era during performances.
Singer Sunga Rose croons and strums a ukulele while the Percolators—Ericka Kendall (upright bass), Holly Michelle Eckert (piano/violin), and Carey Rayburn (trumpet/flugelhorn)—keep time and knock out solos. Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators revive for modern times a wonderful sound from a bygone era.
Come enjoy the band in their premiere San Juan Islands concert appearance.
Dancing is strongly encouraged. A selection of beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets are $10 per person, available in advance at Darvill’s Bookstore, Orcas Elementary School, Gordeaux’s, and Eastsound Instruments. For more information, call 376-3148.
Also on Saturday, March 13, Sunga Rose will lead two ukulele workshops at the Odd Fellows Hall:
Beginning Ukulele (age 10 – Adult)
2–3:30 p.m., $30
The ukulele is experiencing a new rise in popularity. Don’t you wish you too could play this extremely versatile and portable instrument? Come on! Jump on the bandwagon! This workshop truly is for absolute beginners. I’ll get you started with a few simple chords and some basic strums and send you off with a nice packet of songs to work on. You’ll be surprised at the number of songs you can play with only 2 or 3 chords! Bring your ukulele tuned G-C-E-A.
Intermediate Ukulele: Let’s go to the bar!
3:30-5 p.m., $30
Bar chords aren’t that scary, and adding a few to your uke arsenal is a great way to grow as a player. We’ll learn by working on some popular tunes and replacing your old “open” chords with “closed” chords (bar and other closed chords, too). You’ll be relieved to find that this will actually make some chord transitions much easier! We’ll also cover some music theory that will give you the tools to find many versions of the same chord all over your uke. Students should be comfortable with the basics and be able to change chords smoothly. Bring your ukulele tuned G-C-E-A.
If you’d like to pre-register for either workshop or have any questions, please contact Miss Rose at contact@missroserhythm.com.
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March 9th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Chinook School in southwestern Washington
As I drove past Chinook Elementary School in southwestern Washington State last weekend, I suddenly remembered the wet night that my gentle Dad burst angrily through the front door, rain dripping from his 1950s hat.
“What’s the matter Dad?” My college-age brother asked.
“That darn car was stuck in first gear all the way from Tacoma to Seattle!” he said. This was before I learned to drive, and didn’t understand how being forced to go a maximum of 15 miles an hour was such a handicap. He got home safely, didn’t he? Our 1956 two-tone Chevy, with the doors on the driver’s side held shut with wire, hadn’t quit on him, it just slowed him down on his way home from a job.
Dad was frequently unemployed in those days, and having a job – or a car – at all was the big deal, not how fast it went or how good it looked.
I imagined similar thoughts were put before the people of Chinook some years ago, while the school was still populated with elementary students. And it seems as if similar thoughts are concerning people on Orcas Island who are faced with a sizable school district bond.
People say we should only repair what’s broken: the plumbing in the elementary school, the heating that wastes tens of thousands of dollars each year, things like that. We shouldn’t expand at all with new buildings, they say.
That would be like replacing the ‘56 Chevy’s doors (at sizeable cost) without addressing the larger transmission issue; it would mean spending thousands of dollars on a “fix” rather than $30 a month for a decade to drive a car that is more fuel-efficient, more road-worthy, and more of a “tool” to enable my Dad to work.
Most of the “new” construction is actually replacement construction for school buildings that engineers have told us need to be upgraded for safety reasons; the new construction is also to provide a building for the vocational (Career and Technical) education, or CTE, classes that prepare our students for careers in the growing fields of applied physics, computer technology, marine technology, agricultural, construction and carpentry trades.
Maintenance of the school buildings is an issue. And maybe my Dad’s car would have run better if its previous owners had kept up oil and transmission fluid levels. But they didn’t, and in the meantime, the cost of fuel increased, the efficacy of the heating and cooling systems improved, and the regulations on pollutant emissions increased.
The School District had years of cutting maintenance expenses and deferring maintenance in order to balance the school’s general budget (in 2006, there was only $5,000 in the district’s reserve fund – it is now at $341,000, up $100,000 from last year). What this means is that the OISD Board, assisted by the Orcas Island Education Foundation (OIEF), and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) have rebuilt the district’s financial structure responsibly and responsively.
Deferred maintenance, like a dangerously low reserve fund, will no longer be considered as a policy option by this school district board. The proposed school bond provides the capital (investment) outlay for a contractual maintenance plan as well as for energy savings and efficiency.
The bond, as currently written by OISD Board resolution, calls for the authority to request funds in two stages. This means that the Board may ask for the full amount they’re authorized to ask for in the first stage, but then they may well ask for a lesser amount in the second phase.
It’s been known to happen that capital projects come in under-budget: the replacement Tacoma Narrows Bridge was completed last year, under budget and before deadline; the oil field fires in Iraq following the first Persian Gulf War in the 1990s were extinguished far ahead of what was thought possible. Here on Orcas, we do the “impossible” rather frequently – purchasing Turtleback Mountain, outlawing jet skis and plastic bags, producing healthy reserve funds for our institutions, building outdoor stages with local effort, and operating cemetery and port districts at below the authorized tax dollars.
New construction business models have introduced the General Contractor Construction Manager (GCCM), rather than the design-bid-build process in which the lowest bidder (who may well be an off-island company) contracts for the entire job. In the GCCM method, the contractor is there throughout the building process to help mitigate issues in design.
Board President Scott Lancaster has been researching the GCCM model for the last five years. The Board hopes to write into the contract that local contractors have priority consideration, if not for the General Contractor position, but also for the sub-contracting jobs that the bond pays for. This is why the bond has been described as a “Local Stimulus” investment that will employ islanders.
And for those over age 61 and those disabled who will “never” see an increase in their income, if that income is below $35,000, our County’s Treasury provides that their property value will be “frozen” and they can be exempted from paying any of a new bond amount. (See accompanying story “Low-income Seniors and Disabled Qualify for Bond ‘Tax’ Exemption”).
Did you know that the kids at school are building new cars? Julian Glasser, class of ’09, retrofitted an engine to use biodiesel fuel. This year, another senior is working to re-define the car as our primary mode of transportation.
This week, Kari Schuh, the Career and Technical Education Director, and Superintendent Barbara Kline are meeting with State school officials to discuss local “satellites” of vocational instruction centers. Maybe within our lifetime, Orcas students will “invent” a new mode of transportation that ends our dependence on foreign oil and high prices at the gasoline pump, much as Lakeside School students Paul Allen and Bill Gates, Jr. built a new information communications system in the last generation.
That will never happen, you say? I remember my Dad saying, “I’ll never have a car that works,” and my Mom replying, “Never is a long, long, time.”
My Mom also went to work the following year, and two years later, bought one of those weird little Volkswagen “Bugs” – on time. She considered it an investment in her livelihood, and in our future.
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March 9th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
"Stroking Into a New Day" watercolor by Caroline Buchanan, who resides on Obstruction Island.
Contributed by Caroline Buchanan
Do you have a story, a journey story to tell? How did you get to the Islands? Or how did your family come West?
Do you have a meaningful journey such as a high-mountain backpacking trip in which you discovered truths about yourself? Or how about a children’s story – that amazing journey (down the creek, through a part of town you weren’t supposed to go, or ….) through the eyes of the little child you once were? It is time to tell those stories.
This July the Orcas Island Historical Museum will host the “Journey Stories,” a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum on Main Street. This is an outstanding exhibit for Orcas. As part of the exhibit, the Historical Museum is encouraging us islanders to become involved and tell the stories of our journeys.
How to choose the story? What to include? How do you present it? To help you get started and guide you in exploring ways that best present your story, Caroline Buchanan is offering a class at the Senior Center, Telling a Life Journey Story. It is on Fridays, two weeks apart March 12, March 26, April 9, and April 30, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Come this Friday with ideas for your story and any materials you have. Caroline will help you decide how to use line drawings to illustrate it. Or photographs. Or mementos, like tickets. She will show you how you can draw (even if you don’t really draw) to illustrate your story. She will guide you in developing the writing.
If you want to do a children’s story, Caroline will demonstrate an easy way to story-board and set the pages up. Or perhaps a large collage is the answer. Your way of telling your story should be as unique as the story you tell.
In between the class sessions, you will continue work on your story, using the class time to review your progress and work with guidance. Although she is known for her watercolors, Caroline says she is delighted to be teaching a class again that combines writing and art. She has taught journalling (drawing and writing) workshops frequently, overseas as well as in the Islands.
Several students from past children’s story workshops have gone on to publish their work while others created them just for grandchildren. For this class, she believes the important thing is to get you on your way – the journey of telling your story – and see what happens from there.
You may contact Caroline with questions or for more information: 376-5509, or watercolors@rockisland.com
The price of the class is $165. Register with the Senior Center, 360-376-2677.
A story not told is a journey not taken.
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March 8th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Iris Parker Pavitt in Aspen's Garden at the Orcas High School
Updated March 8 at 7 a.m.
The energy of youth continues to work to make the world a better place. One quiet but constant example is Iris Parker Pavitt.
Iris, an Orcas High School junior, is the President of the Orcas High School Environmental Club.
Since taking over leadership of the Club, which meets Mondays after school and consists of about a dozen members, the club is at the forefront of recycling reminders, especially to the school population. It is also, like most clubs, heavily involved in fundraising. This year, its goal is to help finance a trip the club will be making to the Hanford Nuclear Facility.
With snow forecast this week, one Environmental Club fund-raiser may pay out soon – forecasting the date on which it snows in Eastsound. This contest is a collaboration with Chimayo Restaurant; contestants pay a $2 entry fee to pick a day on which it snows. That date is then marked on the calendar at the restaurant. The closest date wins lunch for two at Chimayo. The contest will run through next winter, and Iris points out that the closest date wins, so a winner is guaranteed.
The Club also is making a video for entry into “America’s Greenest Schools.” The video shows club members planting trees in front of the elementary school last fll, Interviews with school bus drivers, and school administrators, discussing the possibility of a roof garden at school, and the expansion of the gardens and greenhouse, will also be included in the video. The winner of the national contest will receive a hybrid school bus, a “Green School Makeover” (valued at $20,000) and $500 for school supplies.
In addition to her duties as President of the Environmental Club, Iris works at the Public Library for school credit – which is “dangerous,” the book lover says, because she checks out at least three books every day she works. Iris has also participated in the Farm Education and Sustainability for Teens (FEAST) program, interned at the Historical Museum, and serves as editor for the High School Key Club, a service organization under the auspices of the Kiwanis Club. She also serves on the Farm-to-Cafeteria Board.
This week, the Environmental Club plans two community-wide events. The first is another Dodge Ball Tournament on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Gym. For $2 entry team, anyone can join a team to plan in the tournament. A “St. Patrick’s Day” theme will be part of the event. Several Dodge Ball Tournaments have been held this year, and this may be the last, Iris says.
The next day, Saturday, March 13, all are invited to help with a garden work party of “Aspen’s Garden” in front of the High School. The clean-up will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The garden was installed in memory of Aspen O’Donnell, an 18-year-old Orcas High School student who passed away due to illness in 1997.
Last year, Juliana Bates planted a herb garden and repaired the fence and gate at Aspen’s Garden as part of her Senior Project. The Environmental Club will purchase plants from the Farm-to-Cafeteria plant sale for the work party. Snacks will be provided.
Club Advisor Gregory Books, High School science teacher, is trying to work around a regulation for the Hanford Site Tour, which the club hopes to visit in early June: tour visitors must be 18 years old or above.
If that doesn’t happen, Iris says the Club may go camping at a State Park. “Whatever we do, it will be fun,” she says.
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March 7th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
Two important pieces of legislation sponsored by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan Island, cleared the House on March 3 with near unanimous bi-partisan support. S Senate Bill 6346 offers residents of San Juan county alternative transportation options, while Senate Bill 6349establishes a farm internship program for smaller farms throughout the state. “With significant help from farmers and labor we were able to create a pilot that will help us ensure we preserve family farms in to the future,” Ranker said
Ranker believes farm internships are a way to inject youth into a pivotal, but aging sector of the state’s economy.
“The average age of a farmer in Washington is 57 years old,” he said. “If we’re serious about promoting agriculture in Washington, we’re going to have to encourage younger people to get into the farms and get their hands dirty.”
In order to qualify for the program, farmers with gross annual sales of less than $250,000 must submit a written application to L&I for certification and include the nature of work and how it will provide the intern with vocational knowledge and skills. SB 6346 passed 95-2.
SB 6346 allows residents of San Juan county to operate neighborhood electronic vehicles (NEVs) and medium-speed electronic vehicles (MEVs) on city streets and county roads that are not state routes if the road has a speed limit of 45 mph or less. State law previously would not permit these vehicles on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. The bill passed 92-5. Both bills were amended in the House and as a result will return to the Senate for concurrence prior to arriving on the Governor’s desk.
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March 7th, 2010, by Margie Doyle
How do you feel about the Orcas Island Public schools? How does your child feel about them? How do the teachers and staff feel about their place of work?
And who cares?
The Orcas Island School District does, and it will be asking the community in general, parents, staff and students in each of the different schools (elementary, middle, and high) to complete customized surveys giving their opinions during the month of March.
For the past six months the Orcas Island School District Site Council has been designing and creating the series of surveys, using the online tool Zoomerang. There is a custom survey for each group type plus a small, one comment box general one for anybody that doesn’t want to do a full survey.
Ideally these surveys will be taken online for efficiency, but for those who don’t want to use or don’t have access to a computer, paper copies will be available at the school offices.
The surveys were finalized on Feb. 24, and are scheduled to be given to the students and staff at the school this month. Parents/guardians and community members can access their surveys online at the Orcas Island School’s website, www.orcasislandschools.org. Click on the “Orcas Island Schools (Elementary, Middle and High) Site Council Surveys” and then choose the applicable survey type.
Elementary (grades 3 through 6), Middle and High School students will take surveys created specifically for their age group while at school.
Elementary School Principal Kyle Freeman says, “The goal of the surveys is to create a School Improvement Plan that will provide guidance for the next 3 to 5 years.”
The Site Council Surveys will be monitored throughout the month, with data showing trends to be distributed mid-March, according to parent/substitute teacher Bob Connell, who has taken the lead in developing the surveys.
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