There is a lot of misinformation and outrage regarding the construction of the new Battle Ground Public Schools District facility by the high school, so some things need to be cleared up.
Citizens need to realize what impact fees are and how funding works. Battle Ground Public Schools doesn't just have one big bank account with their funding for the year that they can do anything they want with.
There are strict regulations that the district clearly follows, seeing they've received 10 years of clean financial audits.
Impact fees are charges that local governments make developers pay when they build new homes. The money goes toward expanding public infrastructure— like roads, parks or schools — to handle the extra demand that new houses bring.
Washington state demands that this funding only be used for capital projects such as building new schools, expanding existing ones, buying land for future schools and other facility needs (like replacing old district warehouse space). This money legally cannot be used for day-to-day operations that the failed levy pays for.
The community suggests waste and mismanagement of funds in the district, yet expects them to violate state law and wrongfully allocate capital funds.
Battle Ground Public Schools is not a perfect district; however, it is far from bad. BGPS has remained profusely accountable to the community since the Shonny Bria disaster over a decade ago, yet still can't even pass a crucial levy — while the likes of St. Helens School District in Oregon can somehow still pass frivolous construction bonds with little pushback.
The community's unending resistance to BGPS can be directly tied to misinformation like that surrounding this new construction and needs to be addressed head on.
Rye Dilley
Battle Ground
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