Proposition 1, the bond for Vashon Schools is a great deal. What am I getting for $19 a month (cost to average homeowner on Vashon) from this bond?

I’m getting a new multi-services facility replacing aging buildings that, according to Ellisport Engineering, are seismically unsafe. The bus barn, district maintenance workshop, technology and district storage facilities would be consolidated.

I’m getting replacements and renovations in all three schools: Most of this will be used at McMurray Middle School to repair broken windows and deteriorated flooring and replace the hot water system. The locker rooms would be renovated and the gym damaged in the Nisqually earthquake would be repaired. At Chautauqua, teachers’ desks and bookcases left over from the former Burton school and other furniture would be replaced.

At the high school, broken asphalt in the parking lot will be repaved and a sidewalk installed. I’m getting structural improvements to the StudentLink and FamilyLink building. I’m getting a resurfaced track, replacing the current track that is unsafe for athletes, new restrooms, accessible grandstands and replacement of the grass fields for use by PE classes and after-school athletics. And I’m getting a new high school gym as well as improvements to the old gym.

Importantly, the district is trying to increase the amount of physical activity that all students get each day; Elementary and middle school students use the high school gym for some PE classes.

I predict that with enhanced physical activities resulting from some of these expenditures, I’ll also be getting increased academic performance from students since according to the federal Centers for Disease Control, “physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes and academic behavior, all of which are important components of improved academic performance.”

What a deal! I’ll be voting “yes” for this bond.

— Kate Hunter