WINTON: Give room to learn

This letter is addressed to property taxpayers in the City of Coeur d’Alene. School District 271 is holding open houses at five schools to show the public why it needs voter approval of a $32.7 million facility bond in August.

On Saturday, July 14, I attended the open house at Winton Elementary School. I was shocked by the outdated condition of the school. The main building was built in the 1920s. It was added onto in the 1950s and again in the 1970s.

There are also three modular buildings on the site — two from the 1970s and one so old no one knows its age. There are major deficiencies with the entire school site complex.

The boiler in the main building is an antique. There is no air conditioning and inadequate ventilation. The poor air quality is only partially mitigated at the expense of warmth. The insulation in the walls and ceiling is grossly inadequate. The windows are old leaky single pane units.

The building traffic flow is horrendous — students have to go through an adjoining class room, or walk outside, to access a rest room. The walls between some classrooms are nothing more than temporary partitions and distracting noise is transmitted between classes. I strongly encourage the property taxpayers of Coeur d’Alene to vote for the facility improvement bond, in spite of what the mayor and city council are doing to our taxes. Please don’t take out your displeasure on the backs of school students.

Actually, the amount assessed on property tax bills for school bonds will not change if this new bond passes. This is because the construction bonds for Lake City High School and KTEC will be retired this year. If your property taxes go up it probably won’t be School District 271 that is to blame.

Duncan Koler, in his letter to the editor, is right that modern buildings don’t guarantee a good education. But when buildings get to the age and condition of Winton Elementary School they are definitely a detriment to the quality of the education that can be accomplished.

I think the current school board trustees are trying their hardest to do what Mr. Koler suggests and are taking bold and positive steps to improve the quality of education.

With respect to the facility bond they have reviewed the proposal, made it their own, and are convinced of its need.

TONY TALBOT

Coeur d’Alene