School board asks voters to OK technology levy

At a special meeting of the Wahkiakum School District Board of Director’s on Monday, the board voted unanimously to place a technology and security driven levy on the November ballot.

They will be asking for $125,000 for four years, a total of $500,000. For property owners, the tax will be $0.29 per $1,000 of the assessed value of their property.

The school district has been involved in emergency management planning with the sheriff’s office, the fire department and EMS in order to be prepared to respond to an active assailant situation. The district also received a list of upgrades recommended by a risk management construction group after the group completed a security assessment of the district’s facilities. Those upgrades, if completed, would cost the school more than $300,000 and provide a more secure environment for the county’s children.

Beau Renfro, coordinator for Wahkiakum County’s Department of Emergency Management and Sheriff Mark Howie were on hand to answer any questions that the public or the board might have.

“The table top exercise we had recently really brought out the gaps that we need to fill in a response to an incident,” Howie said. “We’ll have committees to address those issues. Eventually we will all have a similar plan if something happens, then we’ll all be on the same page.

“I’m here in full support of the school updating the security systems and the cameras and what ever is on the list from the company doing the evaluation.”

The technology that would be required for an upgrade in security, for things like surveillance and communication, will fit in easily with the need for technology in the classroom. With changes in technology a constant, students need a way to keep up.

“All of these things come with a cost,” Superintendent Bob Garrett said. “There is no way, in my opinion, that we will be able to take care of everything on the list. Maybe down the road when we look at the possibility of remodeling the high school some of those things can be addressed

“Given the process that has been done with the entities in the county and the fact that our insurance company has said, ‘this is what we recommend be done,’” Garrett said,” if we don’t at least try, it’s as if we blew it off and said, it’s not important.”

“And what if something happens?” School Board Member Sue O’Connor interjected.

“Then we’ll really look bad,” Garrett said. “If the community says sorry, no go, we’ve done all we can do. But I believe we have to make the effort.”