North Kitsap Beat

You could probably take Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” and apply it to the newspaper industry right now.

On that note, you probably guess what’s coming, eh?

Now my duties are a-changin’, too. I’ve been fortunate to stay employed as many in the industry, and (too) many of my friends here at the Sun can attest. But when you have fewer people with, arguably, more demands – or at least new ones – it takes a bit of restructuring.

First, I won’t be maintaining this blog anymore, because I won’t be covering North Kitsap. I’m not one for mushy goodbyes, so I’d just like to thank you readers and commenters who kept this space a viable, interesting place on the Web.

I do have one big request, though. I’d like some of you to help this blog keep going. Share with your neighbors what’s going on in your neighborhoods and schools. If you are interested, or know of someone you think would be a great blogger, please contact our Web Editor Angela Dice at (360) 415-2673 or adice@kitsapsun.com.

I’ll be splitting my time between videography and general assignment reporting. I’ll also still cover both tribes, so you might see me running around the north end on occasion.

You’re probably wondering who’ll cover North Kitsap, right? We’ll have a team of three reporters focusing on community and government issues. (Steve Gardner, Chris Henry and Brynn Grimley) I’m sure I’ll pop in for a few stories now and again, too.

You can read about North Kitsap political and government doings at the Kitsap Caucus blog, and our freelancer Marietta Nelson is keeping up with NK education issues at the Kitsap Education blog.

Tammy Adamson-McMullen will also continue covering Poulsbo community events for Poulsbo Life.

Feel free to e-mail me with story ideas, too. dsheppard@kitsapsun.com

If you really miss my witty prose (Yes, I’m kidding.) I’ll be a contributor on an as-yet unnamed photo/video blog. Keep an eye out for it. I also occassionally post my (mis)adventures in the kitchen in The Food Life blog.

North Kitsap High School students are pitching in for a free Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.
The North Kitsap High School ASB and girls basketball team organized to provide the free meal at the Poulsbo Middle School cafeteria between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The school is at 2003 NE Hostmark Street in Poulsbo.

If you know of any other free meals, post times and locations in the comments.

Yesterday I went to View Ridge Elementary in Bremerton with reporter Andy Binion. We visited Rita Dearey’s fourth- and fifth-grade class, who’ve been learning about the issues of the presidential race, and will vote in a mock election today.

It never ceases to amaze me that kids, regardless of age, are more intelligent than I think they should be. Sure, you could argue that the kids just parrot what they hear on TV and from their parents or peers. But I know an awful lot of adults who craft their political ethos in a remarkably similar fashion.

Kingstonites brought their views directly to the school board Thursday night and the message was clear: We want to play our home varsity football games at home.

“Overwhelmingly, nobody wants to be here,” Kingston Athletic Boosters President Greg Wright told the board, citing the consensus from a recent meeting that I attended, and used to help write this story.

They’re lobbying for Saturday afternoon home games so they don’t need lights. (Which don’t exist there now.)

The issue stems from what some say is rumor, some say is fact, that the district was going to paint the stadium either neutral, or to reflect the colors of both North Kitsap and Kingston high schools.

Kingston parent and chamber director Jana Karmberger said most of the problems haven’t been with the kids, but the parents. Ultimately the issue could be resolved with a dose of parenting – from the school board.

“If you just lay out the rules, people will cooperate,” she said.

Later, sounding a bit parental, school board president Melanie Mohler laid out the board’s position by reading a statement. You can read the full text HERE. (PDF)

So, if everyone in Kingston wants to play home games in Kingston, they can have their way. But accommodations might be sparse.

“However, they do so with the understanding that no further plans will be made to enhance the District stadium to reflect multiple high school use AND there will be no additional funding from the Capital Projects budget for any “stadium” type item at Kingston High School. (i.e. no bleachers, no lights, no concession stand, no additional restrooms, etc.)”

It goes back to the 2001 bond that funded several school upgrades and the new high school. A stadium, or lights, were never in the plans for Kingston, and Mohler made clear it’s not the board’s intent to divert those dollars to Kingston stadium upgrades.

“There may be a time when a full stadium will be built for Kingston High School. But not with support from this Board and not with these Bond dollars. That’s for the voters to decide at a later date, perhaps within the upcoming levy or future bond. So, with that being said, let’s all redirect our focus to what we’re teaching our children and the academic success of ALL our students.”

UPDATE: Here’s the PowerPoint presentation on the pool. (Note: I converted it to a PDF so more of you could read it, and because my blog software wouldn’t accept the PPT file.)

A budget presentation Thursday night showed the folks trying to keep the North Kitsap Community Pool afloat are doing well on the revenue side.

And they’ve asked the district to commit to keeping the pool open through August 31 – instead of the current conditional deadline of December 31.

In the name of fairness to give opponents a chance to speak, Dan Delaney urged the board to wait before voting on such a proposal. (It appears Delaney, and the other board members aside from Ed Strickland, support letting the pool people continue the efforts to keep it going.)

It could come during a Nov. 4 meeting, so you’ll have to pry yourself away from the cable news chanel of your choice. (In case you live in a cave, that’s Election Day.)

Jan Harrison, of the Citizens Pool Advisory Committee, said revenue projections through December are conservatively estimated at $20,000 more than budgeted.

They’ve installed the pool blanket that came courtesy of a city of Poulsbo donation, and apparently the boiler pooped out the first night it was on. When they came back the next day, the temp had remained constant. At least at first blush, that means it’s working.

A lot of what the folks are doing is running the pool more like a business. (Surprise, surprise.). The meeting is still ongoing, but I’ll have more if I can get a digital copy of the PowerPoint. It was pretty informative.

Some people aren’t happy that I wrote about several of the North Kitsap School Board meeting at a pub after regular board meetings.

It’s true, public officials have the right to gather socially without going through the formal notification process (like they do before regular meetings or retreats where they discuss business.)

But the legal footing depends on the necessity that they never discuss anything that might factor into their decisions. The law is written broadly.

If I were here to persecute, I could have focused only on “what if” situations. But I gave board members an opportunity to explain the situation, talked with experts to explain how the law works, and analyzed their voting pattern for a few months. It doesn’t show any voting blocs.

As an elected official, you don’t give up your right to socialize. But you do forfeit some of your privacy. (Open meetings, nearly every record is public, etc. Even e-mails about agency business from home accounts are public documents that you or I have the right to see in most cases.)

The board members were clear, it’s just social time at Tizley’s.

Board member Tom Anderson pointed out that they were out in the open at the restaurant, and weren’t in a “smoke-filled back room.” True.

So it shouldn’t be a problem that folks know they’re there after the meetings, right?

Here’s a little more reading for legal context.

According to the North Kitsap School District, a plan to paint over the Vikings’ logo at the football stadium was just a rumor.[PDF]

Quick Facts: Rumors recently spread throughout the community this week that
the North Kitsap School Board had decided to paint the North Kitsap
Stadium and paint over the Vikings logo.
That is a rumor, not a fact. The board has not discussed or decided to
paint over the Vikings logo. Community input will be sought before any
decisions are made about how to change or improve the way the two
high schools and the community share the stadium.

Naturally, North Kitsap parents and students were upset at the prospect of the stadium losing the NKHS mascot and colors.

Football is probably the most intense expression of school pride, so I think any reasonable person would see how even the thought of your mascot and colors being painted over might be unsettling.

But if I play Devil’s advocate for a moment, I supposed I’d have to ask how Kingston Buccaneers feel about having a home field that isn’t adorned with their mascot or colors.(KHS does have its own concessions stand at the stadium.)

Last year was the first for Kingston High School, making NK a two high school district. The Buccaneers share the stadium in Poulsbo. It didn’t make financial sense to build two stadiums, according to the district.

What’s been clear, especially in Kingston, is that there’s been an effort to develop identity and pride in the new school. And it’s clear – as the painting issue shows – that NKHS supporters don’t want to lose one of their sources of identity and pride.

So, now that the district has two high schools, what is the best solution? Leave the stadium the way it is? Paint it something neutral that doesn’t reflect either team? Build more bleachers in Kingston so they can play home games there? Paint the NK stadium with both mascots and colors? Something else?

(In addition, former Public Facilities District board member Linda Berry-Maraist e-mailed to say that any assertion that the PFD “demanded” the stadium be painted neutral colors was false.

Linda serves on the Poulsbo City Council now, but was a 7-year board member, past president and Poulsbo representative on the PFD when they were developing the North Kitsap Regional Events Center plan. The NKREC is a PFD effort with the school district, city of Poulsbo, and Kitsap County. The first phase includes the turf and track at the stadium and Strawberry Fields. Go HERE to find info and a link to the master plan.

Regarding logos, she wrote: ” In fact, the PFD and other partners never even discussed it, much less required it. The steering committee did opt to not fund any logos in the field as it was very expensive and we considered it a school issue and thus school expense. We didn’t care if they wanted to add logos but we weren’t going to spend public money on it.”)

Just a heads up for you folks who follow education news. This week there’s plenty of it coming. WASL results are released this afternoon. It’s the state test that high school kids’ graduations hinge upon.

Thursday’s a big day.

Annual Yearly Progress numbers come out. In short, these are evaluations of schools for the federal No Child Left Behind system. For some it’s a system that they say demands accountability for each school. Some education officials say the system is designed to fail schools (Ex: Failing one category means the entire school fails. It often comes up because special education students are held to the same standards as everyone else.) Federal funding can hinge upon AYP results, depending on how many years in a row a school fails.

Later that evening, 7 p.m., the NK School Board will pass its budget, which will likely (at least temporarily) resolve the issue over the NK Community Pool. All indications are that the district is at least leaning toward funding the pool through December, but you never know until those five board members vote. As a reminder, the pool isn’t the only thing that could be cut as the district trimmed $2.8 million.

A pledge drive aimed at Kitsap’s well heeled is underway, with the goal of keeping the Poulsbo Marine Science Center afloat this fall.

It’s come about because of a win/lose situation during last year’s Legislative session.

The center got money to build a floating classroom, where they hope to teach kids from 14 school districts around the region. But when last minute trimmings hit the budget process, $100,000 to operate the center was cut.

The following is from a letter by Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade to one of the prospective donors:

In the last legislative session, the Marine Science Center lost $100,000 in funding. This funding was necessary to keep the Center in operation and complete its mission of marine education. At the present, the Marine Science Center has contracts with 14 different school districts to present its curriculum to young children fostering understanding and appreciation of the ecology of Liberty Bay and the marine environment. These contracts are now in jeopardy. With the loss of funding, this program cannot continue.

Now, the center’s non-profit foundation is working to secure $5,000 donations from a select group of Kitsap residents through August 30.

Poulsbo Councilwoman Becky Erickson said about $30,000 has been raised so far.

If the don’t raise $100,000, they don’t collect.

Also leading the drive, according to Quade’s letter, are Poulsbo Marine Science Foundation members Bill Austin and Bruce Harlow, and Rep. Sherry Appleton. (Appleton said in a phone conversation that she isn’t soliciting money to avoid confusion because she is also in the middle of a campaign for her legislative seat.)

The fact that the center is asking for money isn’t surprising. Operating costs – to mean the day to day costs to run a program/building – are what were, and have been, the crux of the issue. And it’s not just the Marine Science Center asking for money.

North Kitsap has plenty of other examples. People are fundraising, with about $25,000 in hand at last count, to save the North Kitsap Community Pool, folks in Kingston have been working for years to find money to build a new community center/library/senior housing project and eventually, it could be that a large regional trails proposal could come together, requiring public financing to maintain the system.

It’s all pointing toward the formation of a regional parks district. (The term “metropolitan parks district” has been used, but I have a hard time seeing North Kitsap as a metropolitan area.)

The major unknowns are: What would it fund, and for how much? How long would it take to become a ballot initiative? Would people vote for it? And if it takes years to come to the voters, what will happen to all of these projects in the meantime?

Josh Farley, our cops and courts reporter, wrote an entry today about a letter Poulsbo Police Chief Dennis Swiney wrote [PDF] to North Kitsap School Board member Tom Anderson about an objection to a proposal to get rid of school resource officers. 

That issue came up last Thursday during the board meeting.