There will be an election on April 17^th that will be of the highest importance to many living in the City of Sammamish and for all who live in the Issaquah School District.  A primary issue is the school construction and maintenance bond for the Issaquah schools.  It is important to note that this is a replacement bond for the existing Issaquah District school levy and also that it will actually lower the current rate from $4.85 to $4.42 per $1000 of assessed homeowner value, thus resulting in a tax decrease for all homeowners in the Issaquah School District.

The funds will go towards badly needed refurbishment and improvements with virtually every district school in Sammamish (and the entire district) receiving much needed improvements and maintenance for buildings, classrooms, and athletic facilities.  Many of the oldest facilities need substantial renovation.  Improvements to sports facilities will improve both safety and allow higher utilization for students and the community.

It is important to keep in mind that not only are top quality schools needed to provide the educational opportunities necessary for our young residents as they prepare for their careers but that the quality of the schools also have a great impact on the community.  Good schools make for desirable communities and help create and support high property values, something that should be kept in mind by those residents who do not currently have children of their own in class.  Major corporations tend to steer relocating executives and other highly skilled people to communities with excellent educational opportunities.  Great schools are one of the most important things in keeping our community among the top places to live in the country.

I strongly urge your support for the levy on April 17^th.

Tom Odell, Mayor
City of Sammamish

By now registered voters should have received their ballots for the special Issaquah School District bond election and we are being asked to decide one thing: whether or not to help bridge the huge gap left by inadequate state funding of education. Although the $219 million bond package might seem big, the truth is our taxes will actually go down – the owner of a $500,000 home will pay about $215 less per year than we currently pay on the bond package that runs out this year.

You might be surprised to learn that Washington State does not fund regular maintenance of public schools – local voters must approve school bonds to make sure our kids have safe buildings in which to learn and grow. If we don’t approve this package, the ISD will be forced to divert funds from areas like teacher salaries and books in order to make even basic repairs to school buildings. For example, if a school boiler fails, the replacement is $500,000, which is equivalent to 6 teaching positions. In some elementary schools, class sizes are up to 28 students. Imagine how much more difficult it will be for our kids to learn and our teachers to teach if there are 30 or more students in each classroom!

Within the $219 million package are almost $4 million for Maywood Middle School and $44.58 million for Liberty High School, which will enable our district to complete the construction that has already begun and will turn our high school into a state-of-the-art facility like Issaquah HS and Skyline HS. Our south-end Newcastle & Renton schools are first on the construction schedule, which means the work should be complete in about 3 years, in plenty of time for most of our kids to actually enjoy the new buildings.

The ballots must be postmarked by April 17 and we need 60%+1 of those votes to be in favor of funding a better education for our kids. For more information, you can log on to http://www.visvote.org/.

SYFA Endorses 2012 Construction and Maintenance Bond Measure:  The Board of Skyline Youth Football Association (SYFA) endorses the 2012 Issaquah School District Construction and Maintenance Bond and will encourage the parents and guardians of its participants to vote “yes”.  SYFA is a non-profit youth football association in Sammamish, Washington.  Each year, SYFA gives kids living in the boundaries of Skyline High School the opportunity to play football in a fun and safe environment.  All kids who register will play, regardless of their skill level.  Last year, more than 300 kids played football as “Spartans” through SYFA’s program.  This means that an estimated 600 parents and guardians of participants may be involved annually in SYFA’s program.  SYFA relies on ISD’s athletic fields for practices and games and has always greatly appreciated is close relationship with the Issaquah School District (ISD).

Why SYFA Supports the Bond Measure:  SYFA faces a shortage of space available for practice fields.  Demand for athletic fields in SYFA’s service area has grown dramatically, but the construction of new fields has not kept pace.  Along with improving ISD’s educational facilities, the bond measure will also fund important expansions and improvements to the athletic fields available for football practices and games.  The following planned improvements are particularly important to SYFA’s program:

• Grass fields converted to artificial turf at Pine Lake, Beaver Lake and Pacific Cascade Middle Schools.  Proponents estimate that conversion of middle school fields to turf will allow up to five times more use of these fields while decreasing maintenance costs.
• Skyline High School Football Stadium improvements including new covered homeside seating for approximately 2500, replacing/enlarging press box, adding toilet rooms, adding concessions and providing weatherproof storage and repairing and converting homeside bleachers to visitors seating.

These field improvements are vitally important to SYFA’s mission to make the sport of football available to its participants.  In addition to providing additional resources for SYFA’s mission, SYFA believes these improvements are also fiscally responsible as passage of the bond will actually decrease local school taxes paid by residents.

SYFA looks forward to continuing and strengthening its relationship with ISD.  Please contact me if you have any questions regarding SYFA’s program or its endorsement of the 2012 Issaquah School District Construction and Maintenance Bond.

The Skyline Youth Football & Cheer Board

City of Sammamish Support Resolution