The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

We report this week, in an article on Page 9, about the Dayton School District's new approach to facilities improvements. Instead of seeking voter approval for a bond levy measure that would allow a major renovation of school facilities, the Dayton School Board will likely go out next year for a capital improvement levy instead.

With a capital improvement levy, the district won't borrow money by issuing bonds and then pay them off with tax revenues. Instead, it will propose to undertake a limited set of projects and likely complete them over a three-year period. Tax revenues would pay the bills as the funds come in.

Earlier this year, a $25 million dollar bond levy requested by the district was overwhelmingly rejected by voters. This project would have provided Dayton students with a state-of-the-art school facility, but at a big cost to property owners.

With their new approach, the district is expected to ask for about $800,000, to be paid out over a period of probably three years. These funds will provide the basics: replacing roofs that are at the end of their lives; installing a communication system and replacing doors so that the schools' security and safety levels can be brought up to modern standards; and making improvements to the gym entryway and the irrigation systems that will significantly reduce utilities costs.

When I spoke with Dayton School Superintendent Doug Johnson a couple of weeks ago, he said he and the board are taking this new approach because they have heard very little interest and gotten very little support from community members for making major improvements to the schools.

After the bond levy defeat this year, Johnson presented a series of scaledback projects that would have required smaller bond purchases, but still allowed significant modernization of the schools. The response was tepid at best, he said.

Hence the switch to a capital improvement levy. It doesn't hurt that this type of levy requires voter approval of only 50%, rather than the supermajority of 60% of voters needed for a bond levy.

This band aid approach that the schools are now faced with has major downsides, however. As time goes on, our learning facilities will become more and more antiquated. We may be able to keep students dry, and reasonably safe and secure, but they won't have up-to-date learning facilities.

Not only will this put them at a disadvantage when they graduate and move on in their education, but it will also make it harder for district to hire quality teachers and staff.

Many people in Dayton feel that our schools aren't up to the standards they ought to be. But depriving students and staff of modern facilities will only make the situation worse.