My Idea and Arguments For the New Elma Stadium

My idea for the Elma Stadium isn’t a new one, but I will share the reasons why I think it is a good choice. I like the $3.4 million idea of building the stadium and field in it’s same footprint using real grass. Here are my reasons:
By building in the same spot it will effectively reduce the cost by half of the original proposal. The previous proposal gave me the impression in addition to the relocation of the stadium to a spot not near the high school, there would be room left in the plan for a track and sports facility for future consideration. To me this would leave an open ended solution that would eventually require more levy’s to be run to add more and more, or at the very least more school district expenditures to build additional facilities that are already present at the High School. If after 3 tries, this is such a hard sell to the public (for whatever reason) then, maybe asking the taxpayers to approve a proposition that will be followed up by possibly additional facilities, new artificial turf every 10 years, and the addition of commuting the kids to and fro to practice and the general separation from the High School grounds, we may be faced with the reality that this just isn’t the time for this plan. Considering the past 10 year economic, and employment history of the Elma area, and the east Grays Harbor County, it might not be wise to burden the tax paying public with a long term payment for a large and separate facility, and expect them to warm up to future levys. As I have said before, using the monies saved from the use of real grass, the monies could go to separate practice fields to alleviate the field from overuse due to practicing on it. The figure of $50,000 per year to maintain real turf has been touted, as you know once a system of maintenance has been established the additional cast would be less to maintain the additional practice fields using the same equipment, and personnel, possibly for almost the same budget. And finally, if we offer the public a proposal that simply replaces the stadium, and field in it’s same location, the likelihood of dissension is far, far less than the public seeing a plan that seeks to re-invent the wheel so to speak, and create a separate facility. The fact that the stadium needs to be rebuilt is indisputable, rebuilding it in it’s same spot as close to it’s original state is a hard proposal to balk at. For this reason I believe this is the best course of action. That is not to say we can’t look at artificial turf and raising the field down the road. I believe this would serve our kids and the taxpayers well, and get us back on track. Thanks for reading this, and be sure to let me know if I have anything wrong.

This came to me from the Elma School District and I think it is very helpful in
understanding how the cost's of levies are determined and the assurance that our
school district is watching out for the taxpayers as well as it's students:

Elma school District: A History of Fiscal Responsibility

There have been a number of issues that have been broached during the bond
campaign. One of these issues is the cost of the stadium and bonds. The funding of
schools in this state is found to be so lacking that  the Washington Supreme Court
found the Legislature to be remiss in its duty to fully fund its schools. This was
largely caused by the way our schools are funded (through local property tax levies)
which are inherently unfair to districts and tax payers who do not live in property
rich districts such as Seattle, Bellevue 0r Mercer Island. Those districts are able to
supplement their budgets through levies that generate much more money for their
students, while actually creating lower burdens on their taxpayers than in districts
such as Elma or McCleary.

This situation would be worsened, were it not for the fact that this district has a
history of fiscal responsibility when it comes to its management of bond debt and
levy conservation. This fiscal restraint is to be lauded. Thanks are extended to the
School Boards, the superintendents and the business manager during this time, Lisa
Arnold. Elma School District had several outstanding bonds at the start of the 2002
calendar year. By re-funding the bonds at that time, debt that was due to expire in
2015, instead was retired in 2010 saving the citizens hundreds of thousands of
dollars.

In addition, during the 2012 calendar year, a ruling caused the District to be ordered
to repay almost $535,000 to Grays Harbor Energy after they prevailed in a lawsuit
over what they had been assessed. Grays Harbor County chose to levy taxes to repay
the amount as did many other taxing entities affected by this ruling. Elma School
District did not. The money saved from repaying the bonds early remained in our
Debt Service account where it could be used to repay the over taxing of the Energy
company. Please know that we understand that all our dollars are public dollars and
we appreciate the financial and many facets of support our community provides for
us.

The final example official responsibility is in regards to the Transportation
Cooperative Building, which pending state approval, is scheduled to begin
construction in 2016. In the fall of 2011, the District asked the voters to fund this
building along with a stadium. After the issue failed, the District continued to work
through other channels to secure state funding, and then managed its own resources
to provide a smaller share, and as a result we are scheduled to be the home of a
transportation cooperative for the McCleary and Oakville districts, along with
Educational Service District 113's Head Start Program. This cooperative will allow
the district to function more economically than we do currently and provide more
and better services to our students as a result.

We prepared this document to ensure that our community understands we are good
stewards of public monies. We regret that the funding system in our state is such
that we must ask for your financial support every two years. But please know that
we never take for granted how valued these dollars are, and at what price they are
provided to us. Thank you, Elma for your support, your caring and your
commitment to help us get better every day.