Editor,

I have lived on Whidbey Island for 25 years and have always supported bonds and levies for our schools, parks, emergency services, and our hospital.

These are vital for our community, which is why I am supporting the upcoming construction bond for the South Whidbey schools.

In his Sept. 20 letter to the editor, Jim Adsley questions the use of bonds for this much needed construction, but his reasoning is flawed: A total of 172 of the 295 school districts in our state have existing bonds and levies. These include large and small, affluent and modest, urban and rural – and even “red” and “blue” – districts.

Short of having citizens pay millions of dollars out of pocket, bonds are the only way to pay for these projects. This is why hundreds of cities, counties, ports, hospitals, parks and fire/EMS districts all use bonds to pay for construction.

There is nothing secret here: Bonds need to be paid back, with interest. But bonds have much lower interest rates than homes loans do.

The academic figures he quotes are also misleading. Academics at our local schools have varied, with the current numbers being sometimes higher or lower compared to those over the last eight years.

Also, the current rates for academics, graduation and attendance are higher than the state average.

When the bond is approved, the district will seek public input to finalize their plans – so Mr. Adsley will have many opportunities to say what kind of turf he wants. Again, this is a non-issue.

Jack Brown’s Sept. 27 letter is also misleading: It is the district that is asking for and needs this bond, not the superintendent. The bond applies to construction, not to salaries.

Nowhere does he even mention the construction bond; instead, he creates a fantasy scenario where the superintendent should magically come up with more students in order to please Jack Brown.

In summary, I hope you we join me in supporting the South Whidbey school district’s construction bond – which in turn will support the students, parents, teachers and school staff in our community.

David Freed

Clinton