Tammy and I support Oak Harbor schools and the high school remodel bond before the voters on May 16. We both were educated in local schools, Oak Harbor and Anacortes, and are proud that two of our children are graduates of Oak Harbor High School and now attending Seattle Pacific University. Our two youngest are currently attending OHHS. We are pleased with the academic preparation that Oak Harbor schools have provided them.

We often hear about spectacular extracurricular achievements at the high school; championships won, awards given, feats accomplished. These are good, and we believe in education inside and outside the classroom. But, what about the less-publicized results of our high school?

As published by the Washington State Office of Public Instruction (OSPI), Oak Harbor High School graduation rates are nearly 25 percent above the state average and significantly higher than neighboring districts. Our dropout rate for grades 9-12 is the lowest in the region and less than half the state average(http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ and choose the link: compare my school).

The 2001 levy allowed OHHS to offer Advanced Placement courses enabling graduates to prepare and compete for top university enrollments. This year 300 students will take AP courses and many will receive college credit. Oak Harbor High School has been awarded the “High Schools at Work” grant, one of only seven in the state, and Expansion Management Magazine, a leading voice in quality analysis, ranked OHHS in the top 25 percent nationwide for academic achievement.

However, our student population has outgrown the capacity of the current aging campus and it is time for us to invest in the future.

Thirty-two years ago I walked onto the brand new OHHS campus as a sophomore in the then three-year high school. I was filled with hope; hope of the grand opportunities that were before me as a young American, hope of the education I was being given, and hope because Oak Harbor had invested in a much needed new facility to enable Principal Sid Parker and his excellent staff to do their good work.

We must continue to provide that hope for the students of Oak Harbor by investing in the OHHS renovation and expansion, enabling current Principal Dwight Lundstrom and his excellent staff to continue the OHHS tradition of excellence.

Please vote “yes” on May 16 for the future of our great community, school and students.

John Kingma

Tammy Kingma

Oak Harbor