Thank you to the voters of Orcas Island for supporting both the school bond and the technology levy. We all recognize that voting to approve bonds and levies is not an automatic action.  We sincerely thank all those who helped us to reconfigure and recreate a plan that would address the most pressing needs of the district and be approved by the voters.  The members of the Orcas Island School Board have been particularly steadfast through the last few years as we weathered the recession and worked to resolve problems with our structures.

Thanks to energy grants and the voters’ support of the elementary school bond and thanks to the state repair grant facilitated by Senator Ranker, we have made progress on the repairs that our buildings needed.   There was no way that we could see to finance the major work needed on the 1980’s buildings without this bond.

We recognize that our voters have agreed to these taxes with the expectation that the money will be well and carefully spent and we will meet that expectation.

We also recognize that both the bond and the levy are an investment in the future of our students and our community.   The work that we do on our buildings will result in well planned and carefully built spaces that will serve Orcas students and the community for many years.  Our technology purchases will help our students obtain an excellent education so that they continue to have many options for success in their future.

We welcome community members to be a part of the next phases of the process of rehabilitating our buildings.  As we move ahead with the bond project over the next few months, there will be meetings and discussions and opportunities for community members to attend and join in the work.  Please call the district office, 376 – 2284, for information.

On behalf of the students and staff, I thank you for your support and commitment to our schools.

Barbara Kline

Superintendent