Opposition to the $160 Million Bond

On October 19th, Hue Beattie represented the opposition to the proposed $160 million bond at a debate held by the League of Women Voters. 

He was debating against Teri McIntyre, who is on the Facilities Planning Task Force, and has been involved in the development of this proposed bond. Beattie voiced his concern that, with respect to some of the proposed uses of the money, the voices of the community members were being ignored. Beattie has supported every bond that has been proposed in the last 40 years, but he cannot support this one.  

Two areas of the bond he especially oppose are the rebuilding of Sehome High School, and the renovations to the Bellingham school district office. He argues that Sehome does not need to be rebuilt, and that the description of the renovations to the district office may be misleading. When asked if there were parts of the bond he supported, he replied that there were—but not enough to pass it. 

  His solution—scrap the bond and go back to the drawing board. 

Take a look at the video of the debate here (start at 61:00). Click here for more information from the Bellingham School District about what the money will be used for and why. Do you support the bond? Are there projects you think shouldn’t be included? How will you vote this November?