The bond price needs to be lowered. The proposed remodel of the Oak Harbor High School is the equivalent of spending $749,000 to remodel your 2,000 square foot home. The bond resolution needs to be rewritten. It allows Oak Harbor School District to spend bond proceeds any way it likes – not necessarily on OHHS.

The project has arbitrarily increased in scope. Director Vicki Harring first described remodel options in a March 2002 “Soundoff” column, intending to add 27,000 square feet. The project now arbitrarily proposes adding 38,000 square feet. Contrarily, Harring’s remodel “option 1” bond of about $28 million (from her Soundoff) would still get us $20 million in state match now and address the core needs at OHHS, with no square foot additions.

Student over-crowding is a contrived issue. The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction lists OHHS official capacity at 1,510 students. This year’s OHHS 9-12 headcount started at 1,749. Attrition has so far decreased that to 1,721. The state projects next year to start with only 1735. Those numbers also include dozens of full-time Midway High School and Home Connection students, whose classes are offsite from OHHS, and part-time Running Start students, who attend classes at Skagit Valley College versus OHHS.

The winter 2006 edition of the district’s “School News” suggests OHHS capacity for 1,700 students: “In 1991, the school was expanded (by 50,000 square feet) to include ninth grade, reaching a capacity of 1,700 students.” OHSD enrollment overall is continually declining annually.

The project intentionally forfeits millions of dollars in state match by doing it now versus in just a few years from now. The 1991 sections of OHHS (25 percent of the school) become eligible for state match after 20 years. If rising construction costs are outpacing state match increases, as is the district’s justification for doing the project now, then why are we not also now running a bond to remodel the south end of Oak Harbor Elementary, eligible for state match in 2003, and for Hillcrest Elementary, eligible in 2009? Remodeling the entire OHHS now places much more tax burden on the local community than is necessary.

The project’s allegedly skyrocketing costs are disingenuous claims. If rising construction costs make it imperative to do this project immediately, why did OHSD wait three full years to place this issue on the ballot again?

The bond resolution provides no accountability. Washington State School Director Association (WSSDA) guidelines stipulate all bond proceeds be spent only for a specified project or to retire debt on that bond. This “open-end” resolution needs to be rewritten so bond proceeds are only spent for OHHS or to retire bond debt. Otherwise, OHSD will not spend all bond proceeds on OHHS. Disturbingly, the school board is considering a policy of WSDDA-like resolution guidelines intended to create an illusion of accountability for this bond while the actual resolution would still create an “open-ended” bond. Instead of using proceeds from the “open-end” 1996 bond to replace the Clover Valley Elementary roof, OHSD spent $5 million buying and remodeling a new administration building. Despite 1996 promises to slope roofs on all elementary schools, flat roofs still exist.

This exorbitant bond provides no accountability for how OHSD would spend our money. Voters should demand a more modestly priced bond and a bond resolution that specifies all bond proceeds be used only for OHHS or to retire debt on this bond.

Oak Harbor resident William Burnett is a former candidate for school board.