Why I voted against the Baker School District bond

I have been reading various stories and articles which feature the school board trying to determine the cause of the defeat of the school bond measure in the recent election. It appears that superintendent Witty and others believe it was the money. I beg to differ. I voted against the measure because it made me extremely uncomfortable to have all of Baker’s school children attending school in a single large educational facility on the northwest edge of town. Most people that I talked to seemed to feel the same way.

(Editor’s note: The district’s proposal was to build a school for students in grades 1-6 on property north of Baker High School and to move seventh- and eighth-graders to a separate section of the high school.)

Two things bother me about this idea. First, if a major disaster should strike that school the effect on our community would be horrendous. Second, the kindergarten, first- and second-graders are pretty small and young to suddenly be thrust into such an environment. Large buildings, people they don’t know, almost all much older and bigger than they are busy doing their own thing would be overwhelming to say the least. To me, it just doesn’t make sense to build what is being proposed.

Sig Siefkes

Baker City