Saturday, October 18, 2014

Eureka City Schools proposes Measure S to modernize, repair buildings

Eureka City Schools District officials say Measure S — a nearly $50 million bond on the November ballot — will fund the repair of school buildings that are falling apart. - Melissa Simon and Will Houston/Times-Standard

Opponents call Measure S too much too soon, pointing to unfinished projects such as a high school gym that were never delivered under a previous bond....Leo Sears, former chairman of the Humboldt Taxpayers League, said Measure S comes too soon after the 2002 bond.

"The bond isn't even paid off yet and now they want more money," Sears said. "The thing is, the money last time was spent on beautification and on things that were nice but not necessary because it didn't benefit the kids or the classrooms."

...Gregg Gardiner, chairman of the Citizens in Support of Eureka City Schools committee, said the bond comes down to one thing: students.

"The conditions of the schools are bad. It doesn't take a scientist to see that," he said. "There are so many issues that need to be taken care of, and our kids deserve better. We need to ask ourselves if these conditions are OK for our own families. The bathrooms at Alice Birney, for instance, are terrible and I believe the superintendent has said that he wouldn't use those bathrooms. How can we expect our kids to use them? It's just not a good learning environment for the kids, and if they don't feel good about going to school, it's like why even be there? These are the formative years, and we want our students to strive to be the best they can be — whether it's a diesel mechanic or a scientist — and we need to improve those classrooms to provide that."
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