by the Editorial Board
Vashon Island is regarded as one of the most liberal places in the world. It was the largest donor to the Bernie Sanders campaign — which proposed a plan to provide free college education — per capita in the country.
So why would the island’s citizens abandon their youth now?
The high school’s track and field are treacherous and often unusable, with several old buildings in need of major repairs and replacements.
Chautauqua still has the furniture from over 20 years ago and is dealing with size problems from its constantly expanding student body.
The showers in the McMurray locker rooms are used, not for their purpose, but as a storage space.
Something needs to be done.
We, the students of Vashon Island School district, are depending on island citizens to vote yes on a bond passed by the school board to fix these (and many more) issues.
We do not ask for much. The bond has been substantially lowered from those that have been attempted in the past.
In 2015, a new high school was finished to replace the dilapidated old health hazard previously being used. The result was a masterpiece, drawing to our school the coverage of both news agencies (such as CNN) and architects.
And there’s a reason that we avoid the track and field on tours involving such people.
It’s an eyesore.
There are few instances of antithesis quite like walking along our newly paved sidewalks only to discover a massive, muddy puddle in the middle of what should be a luscious green field.
While aesthetics aren’t everything, it’s time to make a change when these areas are both ugly and barely useable.
Currently, the track and field and cross country teams are unable to hold meets there because of the profuse amount of puddles and potholes. It causes shin splints galore. When traveling sports teams step onto the grass, they often question if they have entered the football field or a marsh.
We live on Vashon — the island of constant rain — so it’s a problem when the irrigation system is not up to par.
There is a further problem with the bleachers: they don’t have wheelchair access and it is very difficult for ably diverse people to access them due to the bleachers’ reliance on stairs.
The new bond would help resolve these issues with the addition of synthetic turf (filled with a non-toxic substance) to decrease the cost of upkeep and water use while encouraging the flow of water off the field.
The track’s two-lane expansion and resurfacing would also provide a better surface for the school and broader community to run on, and the addition of ramps to the bleachers — making them more inclusive.
The bond is necessary to keep our students safe, so when it comes to voting on the bond, we encourage you to vote “Yes!”