Teachers honored, students plead to save NK pool

Published 3:51 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2008

POULSBO — Celebrations, students’ heartfelt pleas, and a favorable vote for Kingston High School marked Thursday’s North Kitsap School District board meeting.

Two of the district’s own were honored Thursday, as the 20th annual North Kitsap Teacher of the Year Foundation Rangvald Kvelstad Educational Excellence Award was given.

The celebrations kicked off with a round of smiles, as a slew of Breidablik Elementary full-day kindergarten students led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang a “hello” song in a plethora of foreign languages.

“I’m here to tell the community what a fantastic job our teachers are doing day in and day out,” said Jon Schneidler, head of the Teacher of the Year scholarship committee. “These teachers don’t simply teach to the subject matter, they’re loved because they do so much more than that. They do what needs to be done to stimulate that child so they grow and flourish.”

Kathleen Davalos, a full-day kindergarten teacher at Breidablik Elementary, and Jaime Patnode, a seventh-grade English teacher at Kingston Middle School, were presented with bouquets and a standing ovation in honor of being named the district’s teachers of the year.

“Congratulations to you both and thanks so much for what you do for our district,” board President Melanie Mohler said.

As the joyful students and teachers filed out of the board room they took with them the smiles. In their place stood a familiar site: a group of students and community members lobbying to save the North Kitsap Community Pool.

Seven students and community members took the podium to plea for the pool, while numerous other supporters cheered from the crowd.

North Kitsap High senior Talitha Aban, captain of the girl’s swim team for two years and founding co-editor of the school’s newspaper, led the charge.

She said she understands the pressure the board is under, but that’s just what a leader must face. She said, “giving up should be eradicated from the board’s vocabulary.”

“Sacrificing a popular community gathering will only be more hurtful than helpful,” she said. “If you can give it time, patience and even put a little effort into running it like a business, I guarantee you will see results.” Her complete speech is on today’s Editorial page.

Former board member Helen Hoover, who was in office when the district decided to include the pool’s remodel in the 2001 voter-approved bond, urged the board to work along side other entities, namely the city of Poulsbo.

“Let’s not wait any longer the time is now,” she said.

Andrew Sargent, who’s spearheading the Save Our Pool fundraising effort, reminded the board if the plug is pulled a long-term solution won’t be reached.

Sargent was present at the city council meeting the evening before and said the city asked if the school board would be willing to fund the pool quarter-by-quarter.

“The superintendent (Gene Medina) said that option hadn’t been presented,” Sargent said, referring to the city council meeting, “so I’m going to present that. I’m going to ask you to please work with us. You challenged us to get community support. The community has responded. We’d like to ask you to respond back.”

One gentleman, who walked up to the microphone without signing up, asked why the pool and its related activities were the only sport on the “chopping block.”

The board sat stolid and took the heat in stride. However the “chopping block” comment riled Board Member Val Torrens, as she said it’s just not true.

Later Torrens took a moment to set the record straight.

“We’re not chopping the swim team,” she said. “The swim team is not the sacrificial lamb.”

The reality is the district faces a nearly $3 million dollar budget deficit and cuts are mandatory. To learn more about the proposed cuts and the causes of the budget shortfall, visit the district Web site, www.nskschools.org, and click on the budget presentation tab.

Although the NKSD board is under fire for considering a pool closure and its related programs, the members made a unanimous vote in favor of athletic facilities at Kingston High School: KHS is getting four tennis courts.

The tennis courts will be funded through the 2001 voter-approved bond. Because the pool is short on maintenance and operation funds, money from the bond cannot be used. Bond money can only be used for construction and renovation, NKSD spokesperson Chris Case stated in an e-mail.

Prior to the vote Mohler wanted to hear what the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee had to say.

CFAC Chair Colette Wilson said, the decision to support funding the tennis courts wasn’t unanimous, but a majority decision.

“It makes sense to us as a majority,” Wilson said. “It was an item that was removed and should be returned. While it benefits Kingston High School it also benefits a larger school community.”

An installation time line has yet to be determined.

The next board meeting is June 29 at 7 p.m. in the Administrative Support Services Center on Caldart Ave.