Editor,
I am writing to urge Ridgefield residents to vote a hearty yes for Ridgefield School District propositions 12 and 13 in the upcoming Feb 11 special election.
I was charmed by Ridgefield when I first came here, with its beautiful waterways, walking pathways and bird watching. I grew up in a rural area outside of Yakima, Washington, with a farming focus, and I fell in love with the small-town vibes and potato-themed activities here in Ridgefield. I'm married to a Ridgefield teacher who has worked in the district 15 years, and
so I have the privilege to have been introduced to Ridgefield primarily through school events. We moved here in 2017, and I now have a 5-year-old daughter in kindergarten at Union Ridge and a 2-year-old son. My daughter loves her teacher, Mrs. Stamp, and she prides herself on being a kind and helpful student. She genuinely loves going to school and learning, which as you all know, means everything to a parent.
We have loved our experiences at Union Ridge, but what many people don't know is how big our elementary schools are in Ridgefield compared with other elementary schools. According to the Public School Review, the average elementary school in Washington state is 409 students, whereas Union Ridge has 713. Research shows that smaller schools are safer, have better academic success for students and higher teacher satisfaction. Ridgefield continues to grow, and our schools are already at capacity. There simply isn't anywhere for more students to go. And those who continue to vote "no" on school measures may not realize that buying portables just costs the district more money over time than building a new school since portables are not manufactured to last long-term. The need for a new school will only get more dire as old portables give out and need replacing and when we physically run out of space to place more portables. It will already cost much more money to build the school now than if we had passed the bond the first time, and building costs just keep going up. Building an elementary school that we have already designed on land we already own is simply common sense.
I applaud the Ridgefield district on this creative, slimmed-down design that will save Ridgefield taxpayers money over previous measures and make good use of developer impact fees. Please join me in voting yes on both the replacement educational programs and operations levy (Prop 12), which preserves essential educational programming, and the capital facilities and technology levy (Prop 13), which builds the new elementary school. Vote yes for Ridgefield kids — the future of our community.
Jody Bault Adams
Ridgefield
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