In 1997, my husband and I were involved in selling the remaining acreage of Village Grove to San Juan Island School District

LETTER BY RYNNIE WILSON

Ball Fields?

Dear Editor,

posted 07/15/05
In 1997, my husband and I were involved in selling the remaining acreage of Village Grove to San Juan Island School District. Don Galt was also selling part of his development, Fox Hall, to the SJISD at the same time. Steve Enoch was our Superintendent at the time and Terry Coulter was the Business Manager.

During the negotiations, of which there were close to ten (10) meetings, there was NEVER a school board member in attendance. In order to gain the support of the Bond, Steve Enoch made verbal promises to the homeowners on Larson and Carter Street that their streets would never be used as an entry to the new school property. He wanted their support in order to pass the bond.

Editor's note:

I was the School Board Chair in 1997. I attended at least two of the meetings held during the negotiations.

Sharon Kivisto

Now mind you, the majority of the people who live along that street, not only have supported school levies and bonds that we needed, but they were personally involved in promoting them. Steve Enoch also said to us that when the school land was purchased, the school would receive around $500,000 in a kick back from the state. Steve told us that the money would be used to start new playing fields at the newly purchased school property.

So my first question is, did SJISD received this money, and if so, where is it? Does anyone have the answer to this question?

I applaud Lee Sturdivant and her voice for standing up for what were verbal promises from Steve Enoch. Now, their neighborhood is suffering from the word of one man. A man's word is only as good as his character and I'm convinced now, that you have to be careful of who you trust. Steve Enoch can tell you anything he wants now that he doesn't live or work here. We know what he said. Steve Enoch was also responsible to see that the water retention pond on the land purchased from us was fenced so that no one would drown in it. That was 7 years ago and it is still not fenced. The issue is still an incredible liability for our school district.

Second, the question is, "Who Wants Baseball Fields"?. What a stupid question. It's just like asking, "Who wants a new car?" Of course, WE all would like a new car. But, who is going to maintain it when it has a flat tire, the gas needs to be filled and the repairs done? Same question as the ball fields.

My family was involved in the development on the Park Street Baseball Field. The field was in such need of repair that the mainland teams refused to come and play. Through community efforts and dedicated workers, baseball became a reality for the students of F.H.H.S. The school promised us that they would maintain it after it was completed. BUT, that never happened because our school couldn't afford to pay someone to water the brand new baseball field and keep it mowed.

It was stated in Frank Penwell's letter to sanjuanislander.com that some of the revenue would come from "billboard advertising, like at the Catholic Church site". Is the SJISD aware that if you advertise with billboards, like we did at the Catholic Church property, the school property will then come out of the "TAX EXEMPT" status?

The Baseball Booster Club has to pay the land taxes on the Catholic Church property in order for our children to play ball on that field. Are we financially prepared to accept the responsibility of paying more taxes on school property that should be Tax Exempt? There are hundreds of questions to be addressed.

Don Galt wants to deposit materials from the Gravel Pit on the "new school land", because it's FREE? I'm old enough to realize that "nothing" is free in this world. There's always a payback. He says he has donated money to build the new fields.

Our school is in financial trouble, the attendance is dropping and we're trying to force the issue of "new fields"? If this community has money to donate, wouldn't it be to our advantage to educate our children first? What good are ball players or soccer players if they aren't educated enough to pass the SAT's and fill out an application for college or a trade school?

After all, baseball and soccer can be played in a pasture. Mow some fields and let the kids practice. If the real issue is our "kids", we should be giving the extra dollars to give them the best gift in life ~ an EDUCATION.

What a shame it would be to dump all of this "donated material" into fields that might have to be sold in order to keep our schools functioning.

Rynnie Wilson

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Ball Fields?

Editor's note: