I am supporting the Sequim School Construction Bond. Disclosure: This is my 30th year teaching in Sequim. More disclosure: I will retire before any of the improvements that this bond will provide are built. Full disclosure: I am voting to raise my taxes for the next 20 years as I move to a “fixed income.” Call me crazy, but I like taxes. They pay for civilization and civilization depends on education.

We pay far less than the state average here in Sequim to support our schools. If we pass this bond we will still be paying a tax rate below the state average. I have heard people mention “sticker shock.” It bears repeating: If we pass this bond we will still be paying a tax rate 13 percent below the state average. The real shocker is how low our tax rate has been compared with other, similar school districts in our state. It’s a tough question, but can we say we have been pulling our weight?

School districts usually wait until something is broken before they fix it. They keep hoping duct tape and WD-40 will keep things going a little bit longer. We have done that too. But our School Board has shown the foresight to start fixing things now, before more are broken. They are taking advantage of low interest rates and construction costs to do things now that will save us a lot of money in the long run. Those things will also provide the children of our community with schools that will be on a par with any in this state.

Please join me in voting to approve the Sequim School Construction Bond.

Brian Berg

Sequim

(Berg is a Sequim School District employee)