Where have all the doctors gone?
This is a letter about the Feb. 11 Sequim School District education levy and construction bond votes.
What does that have to do with doctors? A lot.
I’ve talked to people who recruit medical providers for Olympic Medical Center and learned that the two most important reasons providers don’t take the job are that they can’t find a house, and when they visit the schools, they see old buildings falling apart and inadequate learning environments.
Our children need better than this. Our community needs better than this.
A yes vote on the education levy will renew the existing levy that expires this year. This money funds teachers to reduce class sizes, school counselors and nurses, technology, music, athletics and more.
A yes vote on the construction bond will allow us to solve the crisis of our deteriorating and educationally outdated school buildings, many of which are at the end of their useful lives.
We are paying more to keep old buildings dry and warm, when replacing them is actually more cost-effective.
As a retired CPA, I dug deep into the cost of these two measures. I learned that passing both will cost less than what I was paying in 2020 for school property taxes. And in today’s dollars, passage will cost less than $23 per month more for the average homeowner with a median home value of $470,000.
I consider this to be a critical investment in our community and I’m voting yes.
Dale Jarvis
Sequim