South End seniors may go old school for new home
By JEFF VANDERFORD
South Whidbey Record Sports, Port of S. Whidbey
Jul 23 2008
For two South Whidbey public agencies, space may indeed be the final frontier.
The South Whidbey School District has too much space; island seniors don’t have enough.
Tonight at 6:30 p.m., the school board will consider a proposal to lease empty classrooms at the Primary School to Island County Senior Services.
In January, the school district’s facilities committee recommended phasing out the Primary School as a cost-cutting measure.
Meanwhile, the people and programs that use the Bayview Senior Center on Highway 525 have begun to outgrow that facility, compounded by poor access to the center from the fast-moving traffic on the highway.
“There has been a demographic shift on the South End,” said Senior Services executive director Farrell Fleming. “More seniors and fewer families with younger children. [School board member] Helen Price Johnson told me that their board was looking for compatible public agencies to lease space at the Primary School.”
Johnson noted that keeping classrooms in use because of the public investment in the school would seem to make sense.
“Some day we may need the building for a school again but at this point, that seems a long way off,” she said.
Fleming said there were other reasons his board is looking at the school.
“There must be dozens of older schools converted into senior centers around the country,” he noted. “Seniors on Camano Island use the 1925-built Stanwood High School, for example.”
He said that schools are public buildings constructed with public money and Senior Services would continue that tradition. Another consideration is the intergenerational advantages by having seniors in close proximity to elementary students.
“Putting us closer to the kids would solve mentoring problems for years,” he said.
“Of course, we’d have to invest in a few upgrades; the bathrooms are designed for little guys, for example.”
On June 26, seven staff and Senior Services board members toured the grounds with Principal Jamie Boyd.
“She was very gracious and gave us a lot to think about. My board decided to send a letter to the district to indicate our interest,” Fleming said.
“No financial discussions of any kind have taken place,” he added. “It’s too early for that, but we have expressed our interest in some, or all, of the Primary School as it becomes available.”
Though making the switch from a school to alternate uses is a long-term process, the district isn’t waiting.
Next month, Whidbey Island Academy — which serves students of families who have chosen to homeschool their children — will move from aging trailers behind the high school into a cluster of four classrooms at the Primary School now occupied by special education kids, who will be moved to the Intermediate School.
The academy has 110 full- and part-time students in grades kindergarten through 12.
There is no debate over the financial realities imposed by declining enrollment, as the numbers show.
There were 86 fewer children enrolled this year than last and school officials project another drop of 75 next year. In another two years, the drop could be as high as 110.
That means the overall number of students enrolled could decrease from 1,807 today to 1,622 in the 2009-10 school year.
Those numbers reflect a continuing trend. Eight years ago, there was an all-time high of 2,264 students enrolled in South End public schools. The state pays the district about $5,100 per student so the budget impact has been growing.
School District Superintendent Fred McCarthy said other agencies that could possibly be accommodated at the Primary School include Skagit Valley College and the South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District.
“For the coming year, we plan to use all the spaces, but we wanted to see who might be interested,” McCarthy said. “Of course, action on any proposal is still a year or two out.”
Price Johnson said there is a clear need for more building space in the community.
“If we can solve both agencies’ requirements without impacting taxpayers, that’s a goal worth pursuing,” she added.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
South Whidbey Record Sports, Port of S. Whidbey Jeff VanDerford can be reached at jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com or (360) 221-5300.- Civil
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