Yet another person thinking of relocating to Sequim/Port Angeles (Seattle: sales, school district)

[mev]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I have not read this about Sequim before. I know you're writing this about Sequim but do you know if this is true about Port Townsend? I know Port Townsend is (thankfully) more liberal than Sequim but do they have a better approach to the schools?

We like the public schools in PT. They incorporate the natural setting and an emphasis is put on maritime and watershed activities. There are also private schools (one of my kid attends) and they cover every grade. We like the education options, hence the reason for moving here from Port Angeles.

[Dendrite]

Speaking of local public schools and funding- an article from the PDN this morning:

Peninsula teacher walkouts to close schools to more than 7,500 students starting Friday -- Port Angeles Port Townsend Sequim Forks Jefferson County Clallam County Olympic Peninsula Daily NEWS

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Jumpindogs

Well, reimbursement makes perfect sense. And that will prolly never change since Sequim continues as an attractive retirement destination. But I wonder why they ever thought Sequim could offer much, comparatively speaking of course, on the cultural scale. It is a small town after all.

There is Port Angeles. And Silverdale.

LOL! Whoever direct messaged me to tell me the correct word is "probably", not "prolly"...that made my morning! C-D forum must keep you very busy correcting posters.

I love words. I enjoy using them. I also enjoy a few fun word mutations. "Prolly" is one of them. You will continue to see it in my posts.

Thanks again for the chuckle.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by thisplacesucks

Well, I have lived in the area for twice as long as Lovingthesunshine has, and my feeling is, if you feel the public schools are ghetto here, you should examine the public schools in California, Nevada, Arizona, take your pick. i am also a parent of grown and successful children and I know that I did not rely solely on the public schools to educate my children...no one should, nowdays.

Spouse and I have met people of all ages and backgrounds here...locals and transplants. Many of them have children, some grown, some still going to school. Some are wildly successful, some are not. For myself, I have paid my dues as far as financing public schools, and I don't want to pay anymore than I have to. Many people feel that way, in many communities all around the country. For those who are concerned about quality of education here, there is always private school and home schooling, options that I chose for my children during certain periods of their lives.

If you want a lot of urban amenities, this is not the place to be. Try the Kitsap Peninsula, i.e. Silverdale, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Bremerton, it is beautiful and more suburban. The beauty of here is because it is the way it is. Sequim already has a ton of big box stores. Port Angeles...not so much. Regarding culture, you do realize that you can take a ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC, Vancouver Island, for museums, opera, world class shopping? And from there you can go to the city of Vancouver, BC for more of the same? Not to mention, a ferry or a drive to Seattle, or even Portland, Oregon.

Regarding medical care...yes it is difficult. I have had to go to a specialist in Seattle, but it is doable. We really had to hunt & search for a decent family practice physician, a dentist, and another specialist. I do not know what we will do if they retire or leave. They seem pretty invested in this area because they are locals themselves, or transplants looking for a lifestyle change. However...we came from an urban area with a medical school & several universities, and we were having difficulties there...my husband's physician decided he was not making enough money and became a "boutique" Doctor, wanting to charge an annual fee, in addition to insurance reimbursements, to receive care from him. Our dentist and family practice doctors were getting ready to retire. I had to schedule appointments months in advance for one specialist, only to have them cancelled and rescheduled because he was so busy. Plus, drive in gridlocked traffic and wait in his office for 90 minutes past my scheduled appointment. So, this is not a "Sequim old people" problem, this is a problem with the healthcare system in this entire country. Perhaps I was a little more prepared for it than some people...I grew up in a small, isolated town with meager and mediocre medical care, and it was the norm to have to drive a long distance to get to a doctor and a decent hospital.

These are small communities in a beautiful area. It took awhile to adjust to the lifestyle here. I am still adjusting. But if you want to change everything about this place, you will be met with resistance. If you start changing it, then you will be ruining what you were looking for in the first place.

TPS...really good post. I agree on most counts. We currently drive 30-45 minutes for doctors so are also used to that.

I do think the schools in Sequim are sorely in need of major work. With so many portables and a campus so open it eliminates any possibility of safety regarding access it seems obvious. But I admit to not being as informed as I should be about the Sequim school system. I live in an area with well maintained school buildings so these temporary portables (looking more and more permanent) along with the lack of maintenance for many issues just feels so shortsighted. But maybe I am missing something.

[etartmove]

Great new posts in this thread from all contributors. Every bit of information is helpful, if not to me then someone else who's reviewing the various threads on the area. I don't have children, but, as I am contemplating living up there in semi-retirement rather than full retirement, I could see myself possibly teaching.

Thanks

[Lovingthesunshine]

thisplacesucks,

I don't think you read my post carefully. No one ever said they "want to change everything about this place," as you stated.

I wrote about my disappointment at how dilapidated and slummy the school buildings are in Sequim, I didn't ever mention any of the inapplicable rhetoric you are regurgitating from where I don't know.


This site is fair channel to tell people looking at moving here , that most Sequim doesn't support their school district. It is not an argument just a fact. I will say that from watching the school board, they are dysfunctional and can't keep a Superintendent for more than a couple years.


Our school property taxes are tiny compared to area districts and it is disheartening that a community with so much $$ are stingy and short sighted.

We pay $1.60 per $1000 of assessed property value to provide a free education for every child within the Sequim area from Kindergarten thru Grade 12 no matter how disabled, talented, ill or neglected. ( Along with what the Feds and State Provide)

I'd say the people living here have been honored with frugal stewards of their tax money for a fifty years.

As far as arguing your perception, is not a matter of values, it is a fact that the schools are crumbling.


Two more examples:
The high school kitchen feeds 2200 kids each day. The kitchen equipment was salvaged 60 years ago from a WW2 Battleship from Bremerton!!! It is so old they have to mill new parts to repair it.

Kids can't use the tennis courts because they are so beyond repair, they are closed off for safety. The senior pickleball group who has used the school courts for free forever LOST THEIR MINDS when the district had to close the courts. Instead of paying a TINY bit more in property taxes to replace the courts for the children as well as themselves, this group pressured the parks department to make their own courts.

This town can do so much better for the kids. Public schools are so BASIC to the strength of America. I am really sort of embarrassed for Sequim. It's like we are saying this place is great but I waited to come here because "I wouldn't raise my kids in these schools"


Residents: Sequim needs pickleball, tennis courts -- Port Angeles Port Townsend Sequim Forks Jefferson County Clallam County Olympic Peninsula Daily news
2015 Public School Tax Rates


Just the Facts:

Sequim:
The existing Educational Programs and Operations levy of $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value

*Seniors at least 61 years of age who earn less than $35,000 annually may qualify for exemption from some school property taxes. Please contact the Clallam County Assessor's Office at 360-417-2400 for more information.

Bremerton: $5.81 per $1000

Bainbridge: $3.31 per $1000

North Kitsap: $4.34 per $1000

Central Kitsap: $5.21 per $1000

South Kitsap: 3.68 per $1000

North Mason $3.49 per $1000

SEQUIM: $1.60 per $1,000

Im not here to argue with anyone. As I stated in my first post this is my opinion based on only two short years here. Todays post has the facts I thought others might be interested in.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Lovingthesunshine

Sequim:
The existing Educational Programs and Operations levy of $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value

*Seniors at least 61 years of age who earn less than $35,000 annually may qualify for exemption from some school property taxes. Please contact the Clallam County Assessor's Office at 360-417-2400 for more information.

Bremerton: $5.81 per $1000

Bainbridge: $3.31 per $1000

North Kitsap: $4.34 per $1000

Central Kitsap: $5.21 per $1000

South Kitsap: 3.68 per $1000

North Mason $3.49 per $1000

SEQUIM: $1.60 per $1,000

Bainbridge has great schools so it apparently can be done for the lowest of the rates higher than Sequim's.

You might want to read this sitting down. Our school property tax levy is $10.28 per $1000 of assessed value. Down from last year's $10.87. Of course that is in Wisconsin property tax hell...where people move from to retire because they can't afford to retire here.

I suppose I come from a bias but, even so, what can be accomplished with $1.60 per $1000?!

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by Lovingthesunshine

This town can do so much better for the kids. Public schools are so BASIC to the strength of America. I am really sort of embarrassed for Sequim. It's like we are saying this place is great but I waited to come here because "I wouldn't raise my kids in these schools"

Your point is extremely valid. I think this was telling:

Originally Posted by thisplacesucks

For myself, I have paid my dues as far as financing public schools, and I don't want to pay anymore than I have to.

That tells you why nothing will get passed in Sequim and it will essentially be a retirement community and not much more. Too bad, it's really pretty there. What you're describing in the schools is something I never would have thought I'd hear about in Washington.

Originally Posted by mev

We like the public schools in PT. They incorporate the natural setting and an emphasis is put on maritime and watershed activities. There are also private schools (one of my kid attends) and they cover every grade. We like the education options, hence the reason for moving here from Port Angeles.

Thanks mev, that's good to hear.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Lovingthesunshine:

1. In the course of employment, I have been in several Sequim school buildings. They are not that bad. I have seen much worse.

2. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parent, not the community, to educate their child.

3. Overall academic performance is not measured by whether or not a school has new tennis courts

4. Many students have managed to learn, succeed, graduate college, obtain graduate degrees & have successful careers, even if some of their classes in elementary, middle, & high school were taught in portable classrooms. Example: My children.

5. You are rather rude. Your attitude does not inveigle empathy for your cause.

[mev]

Port Townsend teachers are not participating in the walk out!