CV Bond Issue Deserves Support

Back in 1956, Central Valley High School opened out at the south end of Sullivan Road.

The school hasn’t moved, but Sullivan, and time, have zoomed way beyond it. Sullivan has grown longer and wider in the past four decades, the Spokane Valley has grown more populous and more urbanized, and the world more technological.

Now it’s time for Central Valley schools to catch up. District voters can make that happen by passing Sept. 15’s construction bond issue.

At $78.1 million, it’s the largest bond issue ever put on a ballot in Spokane County, but the cost to CV property owners - 57 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on their property taxes - is less than taxpayers in either Mead or Spokane school districts will pay for their own recent school-construction measures.

In return, CV patrons will get, in essence, two brand new high schools designed for new-millenium needs while filling some low-tech gaps that students at Central Valley and University high schools now endure.

At present, Central Valley is the only district in the county where ninth-graders still attend middle school. By building a new University High and thoroughly remodeling Central Valley High, the district will be able to have four-year high schools, shift sixthgraders to middle school, and make space for growth where it’s needed - in the elementary schools. Officials hope this will reduce the need for additional school construction for years to come.

Planners have been attentive to community concerns. They are bringing both high schools up to snuff at the same time, as district patrons have insisted. They want to build U-High on a new, larger site to avoid condemning homes that hem in the present facility.

Both new schools will finally have performing arts auditoriums - features that enhance both the schools and the community. No longer will student performers have to stage their concerts at Spokane Falls Community College or the Valley Mall. No longer will community groups wanting to rent an auditorium have to go to Spokane’s Ferris High School or a similar facility far from their neighborhoods.

The new U-High, at 32nd and Pines, will face 32nd to minimize the impact students’ vehicles would have on Pines. Its 500-space parking lot will avert the spillover that spreads from the present facility into neighborhood streets a block and a half in all directions.

U-High, built in 1962, and CV both were designed for 800 students. The new buildings will accommodate 1,600 each. They will have up-to-date wiring, plumbing, heating and air conditioning.

In February, Central Valley voters passed the district’s maintenance and operations levy with 78 percent approval. They owe it to their children to be just as forward-thinking on Sept. 15.