Letter: Vote yes for Prosser school bond

After World War II, Prosser built schools. From 1949 to 1960, Prosser built three elementary schools and the middle school. The high school, first built in the 1920s, received two major upgrades in the 1960s.

Remarkable! That is a lot of building by our parents and grandparents.

Over the years, there were additions and renovations to all these structures, with the last major addition being to the middle school in 1997. Those improvements helped, but the student population doubled from about 1,300 in the 1960s to more than 2,700 now. Forty-one portables (certainly not the greatest investment) help cover the overflow, but they do not reduce crowding of central facilities — halls, offices, cafeterias, gyms, etc.

The current bond to build a new high school and completely renovate and add to three elementary schools is for $69.3 million. That will cost each of us. But, we’ve kicked the can down the road for decades. The more we kick, the more expensive it gets. Now is the time.

Please, follow the example set forth by those before us. Vote “yes” for Prosser students.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Letter: Vote yes for Prosser school bond."