Following are statements from the Pro committee that will appear in the voters pamphlet. In the rebuttal we have included more in-depth details and information than allowed in the 75 words in the voters pamphlet.
Why? Because there is far more to this than appears on the surface.
Pro Statement for the Voters Pamphlet
Ridgefield School District has added 1,337 more pre-K to 12th grade students since we passed our last bond in 2017, a 47% increase. Without space in our school buildings, approximately 1/3 of our students are learning in portable classrooms at any given point during the school day.
The impact of overcrowding is felt by our entire community. Long pick-up and drop-off lines snarl traffic, and essential funds meant for education are diverted to purchase and maintain 26 portable buildings. This overcrowding has led to the upheaval of hundreds of elementary students, shuffling them to different schools in a bid to balance the strain across campuses. Furthermore, delayed maintenance is hastening the deterioration of our school facilities.
Now is the time to come together to address our overcrowded schools.
Proposition 10 includes a new elementary school and an addition to Ridgefield High School, providing desperately needed classroom space and responding to the growing demand for career and technical education. These projects are past due and shovel-ready, scheduled for completion by fall of 2025. Proposition 10 will give more students safe and quality learning spaces and access to technical training, which decreases dropout rates and increases attendance, college enrollment, and employment.
Improved schools enhance life for everyone in Ridgefield. Our schools are the heart of our community and our students are its future. Let’s unite to take a crucial next step towards alleviating overcrowding in our schools and invest in the future of Ridgefield. Please vote “Yes” on Proposition 10.
Statement For
Submitted by:
Zach Smith, Chair
Amy Watt
citizensforridgefieldschools.com
citizens4rs@gmail.com
Detailed Rebuttal
You deserve to hear the entire argument and rebuttal. We won’t do that pesky thing where comments are taken out of context or just a sentence or sentence fragment is presented. You’ll see the entire argument in context. Because you can’t really understand an argument or a rebuttal if you are missing part of it.
Claim: Ridgefield School District has added 1,337 more pre-K to 12th grade students since we passed our last bond in 2017, a 47% increase. Without space in our school buildings, approximately 1/3 of our students are learning in portable classrooms at any given point during the school day.
Response: Is the problem how many students were added or how much space is needed?
Of the 1,337 students that started attending Ridgefield schools, 224 of them are in pre-K or online learning. As part of the last bond, a very nice pre-K space and playground was built at the RACC. Between the last bond and now, the District leased space from the Port of Ridgefield for Wisdom Ridge, the online learning program. In excess of $2.1 million was spent building out the space. It’s a great space that students seem to really enjoy. Because neither program utilizes the brick and mortar K-12 classrooms, they should be excluded when evaluating facility needs.
If we look at how much permanent capacity exists, there is a need for 565 seats. No-one is sitting outside in the rain without a classroom. Modular capacity of 1,400 seats exists, assuming 25 students per modular classroom. That means that when adding in modular space, there is excess capacity of 835.
We aren’t sure how the math works to arrive at 1/3 of students are in modular classrooms. Here’s the math we are using:
3,939 students (excluding pre-K and online) less 3,374 capacity per the 2022 Capital Facility Plan divided by 3,374 capacity. That gives us 17% of students across all schools.
Is the argument that we need to build schools for the first student over the stated capacity?
A few more points to consider:
Pre-K are NOT full time students. It’s really a day care program for working parents. Don’t believe us? Here’s what RSD had to say about the opening of the Early Learning Center:
“Ridgefield had a need for more high-quality, licensed child care, and the school district answered that call to action with a facility that is child-centered and inclusive of all learners,” said Erika Muir, Early Learning Center Coordinator. “We’re very proud of our new beginning and look forward to future growth to continue supporting the community needs. Ridgefield is the best village to care for our ‘hashbrowns’!”
From 16/17 to 23/24 they went from 43 to 78 children. The cost per child? $41,141 per OSPI. The regular school cost is listed at $15,798 per student. This makes the pre-K day care 160% higher. This is money and space that isn’t spent on school age students.
What’s wrong with modular classrooms? Indeed, some modular may be newer than older class rooms. This argument has no value. Modular produce the same results as a brick and mortar. You may want to read our article on Modular Classrooms: Modular Classrooms – Unsafe or a Smart Choice? (swweducation.org)
In fact, with growth, modular classrooms are a necessary part of the equation. It would be irresponsible to build too much capacity before people arrive. Below is a chart from OSPI showing the enrollment trends at K-12 schools. Notice a reduction from peak enrollment in 2019-2020? At some point, this school district will level off. Would we rather have empty modular classrooms or empty permanent classrooms and schools (that you will pay for over 21 years)?
Claim: The impact of overcrowding is felt by our entire community. Long pick-up and drop-off lines snarl traffic, and essential funds meant for education are diverted to purchase and maintain 26 portable buildings. This overcrowding has led to the upheaval of hundreds of elementary students, shuffling them to different schools in a bid to balance the strain across campuses. Furthermore, delayed maintenance is hastening the deterioration of our school facilities.
Response: Overcrowding is getting a workout given how many different ways the word is being used! If we are talking traffic issues now, when does the line cross from reasonable to unreasonable? When a 600 capacity school goes from 590 to 601? Or a 655 capacity school goes to 712? Is the problem the school or the road? Traffic will be a massive issue at the new 5-8. They don’t seem to care they are putting a 1,000 student school on a 2 lane country road with no sidewalks, street lights, curbs, etc. The County does not have a plan to improve 29th. Improvements of 179th will not happen until at least 2028, if not later. There’s significant potential to create traffic jams on the roads that lead the hospital. That could be an actual life and death situation
Was the Board wrong to take a State grant of $1.2 million to buy 10 modular buildings to reduce class sizes? Is the problem the building or the money?
Since when is maintenance of modular class rooms a waste of money? Modular can be moved as needed making them more versatile (many districts prefer them).
Upheaval in schools? Rebalancing happens all the time. But don’t you think it was strange how it happened? Union Ridge has a capacity of 655. Its enrollment was 802 in the 2021-2022 school year, then was reduced to 713. South Ridge has a capacity of 542. Its enrollment was raised from 568 to 721. The significantly smaller school was given the largest enrollment. Strange, don’t you think? How do they make these decisions?
And why aren’t they doing maintenance? They spent $300,000 for a weight room at the high school. There was no plan for a construction building. But when someone donated a shell, $632,000 was magically found. They added tennis courts during the last bond. There’s a lot more like this. Don’t you think if they really wanted to fix things, they could have?
They are trying to make emotional arguments rather than sticking to the facts. They get levy money to use for roofs and regular maintenance. Where is that money going if not to maintenance?
Claim: Proposition 10 includes a new elementary school and an addition to Ridgefield High School, providing desperately needed classroom space and responding to the growing demand for career and technical education. These projects are past due and shovel-ready, scheduled for completion by fall of 2025. Proposition 10 will give more students safe and quality learning spaces and access to technical training, which decreases dropout rates and increases attendance, college enrollment, and employment.
Response: A new elementary school makes sense. Especially since the district and board helped cause the issue. They chose to close down a middle school which removed over 297 permanent spaces and four modular classrooms that could house an additional 100 students, trying to force the taxpayers to support a bond to build new. They also had money that they used for a community center rather than more classrooms. They promised more rooms in the past and then spent the money on other things. We’ve been trying to get the district to tell us how many new high school students they need to plan for but no response. Wrestling room and not classrooms? The district traded land that severely limits the ability to expand…why?
Yes, kids should gain exposure to CTE programs in high school. But each individual school district cannot take on the full cost of programs alone. That’s why Cascadia Tech exists and is partially funded by Ridgefield School District. And that’s why the Clark College Advanced Manufacturing campus is being built in Ridgefield.
The proposed K-4 school design, based on what’s available, is poorly done. They’ve plan to build things like a full size synthetic turf soccer field with lighting and a middle school sized gym that are designed for community events. In the meantime, they haven’t provided any information on fencing and security even though we’ve asked. We can’t tell if they are upsizing the parking lot or other playground features for community use based on what is provided.
This bond must fail so they can go back to drawing board and get it right. No frills. Functional. Planning for the future. With a promise that they will actually do what they claim and not move funds to projects that don’t add class rooms where needed. They did it with the 2012 bond. They can do it again now.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.