Editor,

On Feb. 14, Oak Harbor voters should vote “yes” on the school bond measure. This important opportunity to build three schools for the price of one is a chance the community cannot pass up. As a long-time Realtor in the community, I can tell you first-hand how important schools are to bettering our neighborhoods and way of life in Oak Harbor.

The first thing that attracts young professionals, doctors, dentists, caretakers to our community is our great schools. When a community invests and cares for its children and schools, it adds value to our entire community. We have an opportunity to forever improve not only our schools but our community.

The upcoming school bond measure for Oak Harbor Public Schools will replace three aging schools, provide critical safety enhancements for all schools and address important needs of the Oak Harbor community at a greatly reduced cost. For every dollar contributed by taxpayers, 96 cents is being matched by the federal or state government. With the high school bond now paid off, we have an opportunity to build three schools for 30 cents less per $1,000 assessed property value.

Opportunities like this don’t come often and we need to come together as a community to support this bond to build brighter futures. The needs of our community will only become more critical and more expensive as time goes on. Be informed and vote “yes” by Feb. 14! If you are interested in getting involved and supporting this effort go to www.citizensforbetterschools.com

Craig McKenzie

Oak Harbor Realtor