Bethel is growing at a historic pace, and our already overcrowded schools are struggling to handle the population boom. The only way to truly solve the problem is to pass a bond to build new schools and renovate and expand our older schools.

Bethel needs a bond. With three failed bond attempts since 2016, we are quickly running out of options for housing our growing population of students.

Some more drastic options are already on the table. Earlier this year, our School Board unanimously passed a resolution which lays out a timeline to begin future planning for our overcrowded schools, including a reboundary of all schools in 2019 and moving to year-round schools in 2021/22.

Superintendent Tom Seigel said if a bond were passed this November, the timeline to build a new elementary school could be accelerated to avoid going back to year-round schools – Bethel was a year-round district from 1974-1981, also due to failed bonds and overcrowding.

With that in mind, our School Board voted unanimously to put the same bond that failed in February before the voters one more time in November.

If approved, the bond would build three brand new schools, renovate Bethel High School, renovate and expand four of our other schools, and replace Challenger High School. It would also fund several projects focused on districtwide health, safety and security.

Surprisingly, our financial advisor indicates that local school taxes will actually go down for our taxpayers in 2019, even if the new bond is approved. This is due to the recent changes in state law.

Election Day is November 6, 2018