PATIENCE COLLIER, Staff Reporter

Students may have seen the posters and signs around town, advocating for the upcoming bond for the district to construct a new middle school.

The ballots for the bond will go out this week, and the vote is April 23.

The proposed new building would be located on the Ellensburg High School campus, off of Third Avenue.

Professor James Pappas, who served on the Strategic Planning Facilities Committee, said he thinks the bond has a good chance of passing.

The bond has ran three times before, previously recieving 55 percent in favor, but still fell short of the 60 percent necessary to pass.

Pappas believes the main reason behind the bond failing was a lack of information made available to the voting public.

This time, the citizens’ committee to promote the new middle school has spent more time informing voters and talking to members of the community, and are hoping to gain more support for the bond.

“We’ve talked to university students this time, we’ve talked to every parent group, we’ve talked to the Chamber of Commerce, 4H Clubs, business economic development… the Democratic party, the Republican party, the Generation’s Young Businessmen, the Rodeo Coronation Committee, all the elements of this town,”  Pappas said.

Despite some anticipated aid from the state, construction of the new middle school will result in higher property taxes in order to pay off the bond.

Pappas noted that this could make the bond difficult to promote, particulary to the agricultural parts of Ellensburg.

Such a tax hike would have a greater effect on landowners with more acreage.

However, the alternative to building a new middle school—renovating and modernizing Morgan Middle School—would not save the taxpayers or the district a significant amount of money.

According to the Strategic Planning Facilities Committee, the cost of remodel ing Morgan would be similar to the cost of building a new middle school.

For many students, this is an issue that may concern them in the future, if not now.

Although some students do not see the need for the bond, others consider it necessary.

Junior Mohanad Alhusseini said he considers the tax hike to be unnecessary.

“Why does the government need money to pay for a new school?” Alhusseini said.

Alhusseini dislikes how there is no other way to fund the project, and believes the government should have the money already, or should obtain it some   other way  for example, by cutting politician’s salaries.

Other students have expressed support for the idea.

Senior Alex Nunez, who attended Morgan Middle School for a brief time after moving to Ellensburg, said the building is showing its age.

The windows were warped, he remembers, and some of the men’s bathrooms were missing stall doors, causing him to sneak into the newer portion of the school to avoid using the problematic restrooms.

Nunez recalled a great deal of old and outdated architecture and furniture that would be difficult to salvage for modern use, as well as electrical problems.

He also remembered an electrical fire that occurred from an outdated computer monitor the school was using.

The bond decision rests with the citizens of the district, and the decision will be made in a few short weeks.