REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
POLICING FORUM: Community discusses policing issues on the island. A7
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 | Vol. 112, No. 14 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
Budget gap nears LOCKED ON to a worthy cause $1.4 million for Bainbridge schools BY BRIAN KELLY Bainbridge Island Review
Brian Kelly / Bainbridge Island Review
Kimberly MacLeod holds one of the engraved padlocks that will be part of her fundraising mural for the Bainbridge High School Special Education Department. Engraved locks are being sold for $10 to raise money for the department as part of the her senior project.
Senior project raises money for special education program BY BRIAN KELLY Bainbridge Island Review
Kimberly MacLeod has a real lock on her senior project at Bainbridge High School. Well, make that 1,408 of them. The 18-year-old’s culminating project is a unique fundraiser for the school’s special education program. MacLeod has put together a steel-framed fence “mural” where people can donate $10 to have an engraved padlock hung on the structure. When finished — MacLeod hopes by May — the 8-foot-wide-by-9-foottall sculpture will be placed outside the school. The idea for the project came from Germany. MacLeod said her father Barry MacLeod, a pilot for
Brian Kelly / Bainbridge Island Review
Kimberly MacLeod stands next to her padlock-filled fence. UPS, came up with the idea while crossing a bridge outside of Berlin and seeing a fence that was covered with engraved padlocks. Vendors nearby were selling locks to passersby, who were putting messages on them and hanging them with the hundreds of others that had
been hung before. MacLeod said she’s since learned of similar memorials in India and France. After getting approval for her project at BHS, she turned to Dale Cavanaugh of Versatile Machining, who helped design and build the fence, and then to Kitsap
Powder Coating, which put a bright blue finish on the frame. MacLeod then began searching for locks that could be used for the project. That part turned out to be harder than expected, she said. Most of the padlocks she found had brand names imprinted on them, with no space for any engraving. Then, there was the sheer number needed for the project. “It’s been really difficult to find padlocks in such a large bulk,” she said. And that’s where a slow boat from China entered the picture. MacLeod found a company in Hong Kong that could manufacture the locks, SEE WORTHY, A9
The Bainbridge Island School District is facing a shortfall of nearly $1.4 million and a new round of staffing cuts as it enters another daunting budget year. Declining student enrollment — and the dwindling state dollars that go with it — is the primary reason for the budget gap. The district built its 2011-12 budget with the expectation that 3,709 students would attend Bainbridge classes. At the start of the year, the estimate was off by 27 students. The estimated enrollment drop has now grown to 100, which means a budget hit of
$520,000. Other factors: A drop in state contributions for special education and other programs, and reduced federal funding, plus increased pension, insurance, unemployment and other costs. District Superintendent Faith Chapel presented a broad outline of the budget gap to the school board at its meeting last week, and noted the district’s enrollment had “bucked the trend” that other districts in Kitsap County have faced in recent years. No longer. With a budget gap seemingly certain for the coming school year, district officials have started discussions of cutting jobs SEE GAP, A12
Bainbridge council finds potential interim manager in Arizona BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review
The Bainbridge Island City Council is considering hiring an interim city manager with a history of shortterm positions in Western Washington cities. Michael Caldwell from Tucson, Ariz. has gotten the nod from the council’s ad hoc committee that’s in charge of finding a new city manager. The council voted 4-1 Wednesday to bring in Caldwell to the next city council meeting on April 11 to interview for the interim position. The committee — consisting of Councilwoman Anne Blair, Councilman Steve Bonkowski and Councilman David Ward — considered
“What we don’t know is how an interim city manager would deal with the city.” Steve Bonkowski City Council Member
various qualities and experience they wanted to see in an interim city manager. The list included experience in labor negotiation, finance, economic development and community relations. “Michael Caldwell met those requirements with his broad experience as an interim city manager in a variety SEE INTERIM, A9