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May 21, 2013 |
Dear Lake Washington Masters Families,
As you may know, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is in the
process of deciding whether to put a bond up for public vote. This
bond would be used to build new schools and refurbish older ones.
As
part of the current bond proposal, Juanita High School would
be renovated. As a part of that renovation, Juanita Pool would be
destroyed. Currently, only the highest level bond (Option E)
includes a provision for replacing the Juanita Pool with a new
facility on the JHS campus. The cost of building a new pool is
approximately $15 million. This is a large, but fair number.
This may be our best opportunity to help determine whether a new
pool is included as a part of the bond proposal. Destroying Juanita
Pool and not replacing it would effectively end High School
swimming in both LWSD and Northshore School District(NSD). There is
not enough space to accommodate LWSD teams in the surrounding
community pools. NSD would eliminate High School swimming if it was
eliminated in LWSD. Additionally, it would also take away the
opportunity to become water safe through swimming lessons from 250
elementary aged children each month.
At the bottom of this email, I have added a form letter that can
be sent to the LWSD Superintendent, Dr. Traci Pierce. Please feel
free to copy and paste this letter as is, or put the ideas into
your own words. Dr. Pierce’s email address is:
TPierce@lwsd.org. As a courtesy, please also include the members of
the LWSD Board. Their email is: board@lwsd.org. A decision about
the bond proposal is scheduled to be made very soon, so please do
this today. Please don’t forget to sign it. For more
information about the bond, please visit the LWSD page: http://www.lwsd.org/news/2014-levy-and-bond/Pages/default.aspx
Thank You For Your Help,
_________________________
Dear Dr. Pierce,
I am writing to voice my concern over the lack of inclusion of a
new aquatic facility on any of the potential school construction
bond options; except for on the most expensive, Option E. I believe
that a new aquatic center is vital to the health and well-being of
both the students and the community members of LWSD. It is my
understanding that including a new aquatic center at Juanita High
School would cost approximately $15 million dollars. I would like
to request that this renovation, along with that cost, is included
on bond option B, C and D as well.
Aquatic centers serve as hubs for the entire community. They serve
all ages and meet the needs of many different special user groups.
Aquatic centers function as community wellness centers and it would
be a shame to pass up the opportunity to increase the impact that
updating our schools may have on the greater LWSD community.
As a voter, whether a new aquatic center is included on the
proposals for bond options B, C and D will be a strong
consideration that will influence my vote when the bond goes to the
wider public. I would love to be a strong supporter of whichever
bond proposal is presented and to enthusiastically help ensure its
passage. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
