Bayfield School District voters: Please vote “yes” on Ballot Measure 3B, approving the funds for a badly needed new school for grades t through five and for upgrades to the existing elementary school so that Bayfield’s youngest students can be moved out of inappropriate and aged facilities downtown.
The Bayfield School District’s long-term strategic plan has included a new school for more than a decade. Full-time kindergarten overwhelmed the existing elementary building back in 2005, and as enrollment has continued to grow, the district has heroically patched together facilities for primary students and challenged staff to work in a hodgepodge of buildings while waiting to determine that the student enrollment numbers would really justify a new school.
Well, they have.
Dedicated staff, generally high-quality facilities and programs, and involved students and families continue to make Bayfield schools successful and to attract families to our school district. Student counts continue to trend upwards, especially in the youngest grades.
After the 2009 economic downturn, the Bayfield School District was able to contract the 40-acre tract now proposed for the new school site at a reasonable price that voters approved in 2012. This is the best possible site for a new Bayfield school: conveniently in town and near other schools, walkable for many students, near utilities and large enough for both current needs and some future projects.
The time to build is now.
Bayfield Elementary has become one of the biggest elementary schools in the state by student enrollment, and we’ve patched together primary grade facilities long enough. District staff and students deserve better, and Colorado Department of Education agrees it’s time for action. It ranked our primary school as their highest priority school replacement project in 2016 and will contribute $8.568 million to help with construction costs if we approve Ballot Measure 3B.
Let’s not lose that state grant!
Bayfield’s strong school district is a big asset to our community, and we need modern school facilities for our growing student population.
Please vote yes on Ballot Measure 3B.
Barbara Wickman
Bayfield
