Why should voters approve the May 16 bond issue to renovate Oak Harbor High School? Let us count the reasons.

1. The electrical system is shocking, literally and figuratively.

2. The flat roof leaks.

3. The school wasn’t built well in the first place, 32 years ago.

4. In 1974, the Internet was used to scoop up salmon.

5. In 1974, the Web belonged to a spider.

6. Oak Harbor High School’s hallways are so narrow, the school mascot should be a snake.

7. Approve this bond issue, and you won’t have to vote on another one for a long time.

8. If the bond passes, Oak Harbor kids will no longer be embarrassed when other kids come over to visit.

9. There’s no new performing arts center in this proposal, and new athletic facilities were approved last fall. Wasn’t it nice of the Rotary Club to raise nearly half a million dollars for a stadium? We won’t have to pay that in taxes.

10. If the bond passes the gravelly aggregate hallway flooring will be removed, reducing noise and ending the cruel jokes about Bedrock High School.

11. Oak Harbor School District taxes are low, and they’ll still be low if the bond passes.

12. If the bond passes, the school can finally accommodate the ninth graders who moved there in 1991.

13. A lot of the school will be saved in the renovation, which makes it a lot cheaper than building a new high school.

14. The state will pay about 25 percent of the renovation costs.

15. The local price tag of $54 million is fair, and was reached with the help of some of our most trusted local building and contracting experts.

16. We can trust the school district to spend the money wisely, as it did with the elementary and middle school improvements.

17. Our teachers deserve modern facilities to work in.

18. Our kids need modern facilities to learn in, or they’ll fall behind.

19. The Navy is the lifeblood of our community, and we should make sure Navy families who move here have outstanding public schools for their kids.

20. High maintenance costs will plummet.

21. The modernized high school won’t look like it was built for California weather. Whose idea was that, anyway?

22. Not just academics will improve, but also auto shop, culinary and other crucial vocational programs.

23. There will be more room for budding artists to learn. After all, we live on a scenic island where art is a major soure of income for both individuals and business owners.

24. How many kids can you pack into a classroom? We can quit trying to find out once the high school is renovated.

25. With more than 60 entrances, nobody knows who’s coming and going at today’s high school. Unwise in the post-Columbine era.

26. A renovated high school would make the community feel better about itself, and staff and students feel better about the community.

27. More good families will want to move here if the high school is better.

28. More families will keep their kids in Oak Harbor for high school, meaning more money from the state will stay here instead of going to Coupeville and Anacortes.

29. It would be fun to pass the bond just to see constant school district critic Bill Burnett have a bad day on May 16.

30. Success would polish Oak Harbor’s image regionally, and remove our stigma as a town that doesn’t always supports its schools.

31. Many volunteers have donated thousands of hours of hard work to pass school bonds in recent year, and they deserve to be rewarded with this final victory.

32. The economy’s good, incomes are up, and we can afford a modest tax increase. Seniors on a limited fixed income may not have to pay. Call the Auditor’s Office at 679-7366 for information.

33. By voting yes, you can show all those people who paid for your excellent education that you’re not an ingrate.

Bottom line: The time to upgrade Oak Harbor High School is now. Vote yes on May 16 and you’ll feel better about yourself.