Letters to the Editor, Feb. 2

Artondale Elementary needs fixing

As a resident of the Peninsula School District #4 and a neighbor of the Artondale Elementary School, where all my neighbor’s children have studied, I am well aware of the needed maintenance that must be done on the school building because my neighbor, a retired Artondale staff member, told me about it. The school is prone to roof leaks, and a part of the foundation has failed, resulting in the uneven floors and cracked walls. Plus, the ventilation upgrades are needed and the paint is peeling off. The district has recently formed a community task force to look into the needed maintenance for all our schools. At the last school board meeting, there was a discussion about the task force and a roll call vote was held to approve the funding that would allow this group to move forward. I am shocked to hear that one of the school board members, Leslie Harbaugh, did not support the new facility task force and was the only “no” vote of the board. Since Harbaugh was in charge of the Artondale PTA and she campaigned on a platform of repairing our schools, I feel that she should explain to this community as to the reason why she voted “no.” My family and other inquiring minds in this community are looking forward to hearing her explanation. Why aren’t the school board members united around the idea on fixing our schools for the safety of our students and staff?

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor, Feb. 2."