With all due respect to the individual Lake Washington School District (LWSD) board members who have just recently endorsed the levy, there is no space crisis.

The district has just refused to use some of the money earmarked for modernization and other available means to handle the long anticipated increase in east side enrollment in a timely manner. They promised to use the money from the two bond issues that we passed for modernization of our schools. They have used it instead to tear them down and replace them. There should be more than enough money left from those bond issues to both modernize the schools left in phase 2 together with handling the growth. Passing the levy will only encourage the district to proceed with their replacement policy instead.

The levy also includes a new grades 6-12 secondary school. In order to reduce its cost, the district intends to use a pre-fabricated “modular” building system instead of permanent construction. The original Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Redmond also used this construction approach. Factory-built modular components and portable-style buildings were connected on-site to make a school. It was a relatively quick and cheap response to growth on the plateau. Never intended for permanent use, community pressure demanded replacement with permanent buildings as soon as possible. When enrollment projections justify building a new permanent 9-12 high school better suited to the district’s new grade structure and other needs, community pressure will also require the replacement of this $25 million interim school.

The levy committee is sparing no expense or technique, even using robocalls, to maximize the yes vote. Unless enough people who are opposed to this extravagant levy offset those votes by mailing in their NO ballot before Feb. 8, the district could proceed as planned.

Paul Hall, Kirkland