I was informed in a town meeting on the bond proposal for $78 million on Feb. 9, that there is only a savings of 2 percent on a long-term modernization of an older building versus tearing it all down and replacing it with a new building.

I asked school officials to compare our new proposed middle school of 99,000-square-feet, that will cost $34 million, to the new Granite Falls High School that was completed in 2008 that has 157,693-square-feet for a total cost package of $40 million. That ads up to be 58,000 additional square feet for $6 million more. Its a matter of public record as conveyed to me by Granite Falls school official by phone.

Included in that $40 million total cost package for a 158,000-square-foot new high school was site preparation and all the furnishings necessary to start school Jan. 1, 2008. Compare that, if you will, to our new Getchell High School and its four separate learning communities that tips the scale at nearly $100 million.

The answer to my question was not available from school officials. There has been no answer from the District to date of this letter.

I believe in promises made, promises kept. I also believe questions asked, answers given as was promised.

It is not my attempt to derail the School District’s effort to do the right thing for our Marysville students and its citizens. I want our School District to be successful. There is cause to take pause. Let’s ask our School District to do a new cost analysis of its bond proposal based on the example of what Granite Falls was able to achieve in a more economically challenging time period.

Dr. Larry Nyland has stated publicly we need competitive bids. We owe it to ourselves to get at least a competitive bid from the contractor that built Granite Falls High School. With costs down now, perhaps we could save some millions on the completion of our elementary schools as well?

We must make every dollar count … yet allow the levy to move forward.

Lynn Claughton

Marysville