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SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 66 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Schools fail to meet federal standards, spurs letter to parents
Port still interested, but fairgrounds idea needs more study
By JANIS REID South Whidbey Record In the next couple of weeks many parents of Whidbey students will receive letters indicating their elementary schools are failing them. According to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, they are. In late April, Washington became the first state to lose its No Child Left Behind waiver which allowed them to ignore much of that law. Because of this waiver loss, Washington Title 1 schools must start adhering to the rule’s stringent policies. Whidbey Island schools are simply looking for a workaround for legislation they consider a “distraction” to education. “We’re having to figure out how to meet the letter of the law when it doesn’t make any sense,” said Oak Harbor Schools Superintendent Lance Gibbon. Despite the letter and its required language, there is a message Gibbon wants to make sure parents understand: the schools are not failing and will be providing the same level of service they always have. “It’s confusing for parents and we want them to understand what’s really happening,” Gibbon said. “Everybody recognizes that this is a failed law and that what we’re having to do is kind of artificial.” All of Oak Harbor School District’s five elementary schools are Title 1 schools, as are the single elementary schools in the South Whidbey and Coupeville school disSEE SCHOOLS, A14
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
a landscaper, a country boy, a city planner, a husband and a father. The afternoon of Aug. 14 was dedicated to Schell, who owned several Langley buildings with Pam Schell, his wife of 51 years, and left an indelible mark on the Village by the Sea. A 45-minute procession kicked things off with a spectacle that many people said Schell would have enjoyed. “Paul would love it,” said Kathie Raff, a Seattle and Whidbey resident who knew him for 40 years,
Managing the Island County Fairgrounds was an enticing proposition for the Port of South Whidbey. Before the commissioners would agree to taking over the 13-acre property during Wednesday’s special meeting — a packed affair with about a dozen people crowded into the small conference room at the port’s Freeland office — they asked Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson for more information and more time. In general, all three port commissioners support the idea of managing the fairgrounds year round, but were hesitant to jump in right away due to several unknowns. Before agreeing to become the facility’s new property manager, the board wants a workable plan for operations, to identify the grounds’ needs and associated costs and have a better idea of just who would use the facility. Those questions need to be answered, and if they can be successfully, the port may be in good position to take on the job. “We have a business mindset,” said Gordon, adding that the port district has license to stir economic development that other government agencies do not get. “We have all the talent.” Funding, however, is one obstacle already identified. Gordon said the port has no room in its 2015 budget to manage the property and that money would need to
SEE SCHELL, A9
SEE FAIRGROUNDS, A14
Ben Watanabe / The Record
People walk along Second Street Thursday during a procession in honor of the late Paul Schell. The business and community leader died in July.
South Whidbey bids a final farewell to
PAUL SCHELL
Langley procession nearly stretches length of Second Street By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
When you live the life that Paul Schell did, people have a lot of stories and memories to share. During Thursday’s three-hour reception and memorial in Langley for Schell, who died from heart surgery complications July 27 at the age of 76, people remembered a visionary, a politician, an avid learner,