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INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2018 ✮ VOL. 126, NO. 23 ✮ KITSAPDAILYNEWS.COM ✮ 50¢
INSIDE: THE TRAGEDY OF SUICIDE, PART 3
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SKSD to ask voters’ approval to build second high school Also on November ballot: 4-year levy for capital projects By BOB SMITH
Kitsap News Group
PORT ORCHARD — South Kitsap School District’s board of directors are once again asking voters to approve construction of a second comprehensive high school to relieve overcrowding at South Kitsap High. At its July 18 meeting, the board unanimously authorized a general obligation bond measure to appear on the November general election ballot. It also gave the go-ahead to place a second proposition on the ballot, which would fund a series of capital projects to improve school safety and security, renovate some school facilities and add new technology capabilities. The $184.7 million bond measure would fund construction of a 240,000-square-foot high school on district-owned property at Old
Clifton Road in South Kitsap. The proposed high school would have a capacity for 1,500 students. It also would have the capability to expand and house up to 1,800 students, Superintendent Karst Brandsma reported to those attending the board meeting. The state would contribute about $9 million to build the high school if the proposition is approved by voters. The four-year, $21.7 million capital levy would be collected in four succeeding years: $5,363,571 for 2018, collected in 2019; $5,368,843 for 2019, collected in 2020; $5,476,220 for 2020, collected in 2021; and $5,585,744 for 2021, collected in 2022. The state also will kick in an estimated $3 million for the projects, the school district said. The levy would be assessed over four years at a projected rate of $0.67 per $1,000 of assessed property value. With this latest campaign, the school district confronts a history of failed bond measures in its attempt to construct a second high school. A 2017 bond measure for $172.6 million to fund construction of a new
The South Kitsap School District’s board of directors will bring before voters Proposition 1, a $184,680,000 bond measure to construct a new comprehensive high school in November. The district made available at the board meeting July 18 a preliminary concept design of the high school on the district-owned property next to Old Clifton Road. South Kitsap School District illustration
high school and renovations at district schools was defeated at the polls. A year earlier, two bond measures came up short by a handful of votes in reaching the 60-percent threshold. To approve a bond measure in this state, voters need to approve it by a
ELECTION 2018
Kitsap woman’s rise from troubled past is fodder for 26th District political mailer By BOB SMITH
Kitsap News Group
PORT ORCHARD — Direct-mail pieces supporting 26th Legislative District state Senate Republican candidate Marty McClendon have hit South Kitsap mailboxes in recent weeks that many — including Democratic candidate Emily Randall — say are examples of below-thebelt campaign literature funded by the political action committee WA Forward. One of the mail pieces sent to voters blasted Randall for support-
ing a Kitsap County single mother with a troubled past. Here’s some background information about Tarra Simmons, a Bremerton woman: Despite being arrested for meth and prescription drug use, and subsequently serving a stint in prison, Simmons made the long
Tarra Simmons, a Bremerton single mother, rose above a difficult life that included drug convictions and prison time to later graduate as an honors student at Seattle University School of Law — and a hard-fought admission to the state bar. climb back to eventually graduate in 2017 with honors from the Seattle University School of Law. Simmons faced another chal-
60-percent-plus-one-vote margin. Just two residents voiced their opinions on the bond proposal during the public discussion period at the sparsely attended meeting — one in favor, one against — before the board voted.
Former board director Christopher Lemke addressed the board and read from a statement in which he disagreed with sending the proposal to voters in November. He SKSD, SEE PAGE 2
Shoving match escalates into first-degree assault charge
lenge when the Washington State Bar Association’s Character and Fitness Board voted 6-3 against her admission to the bar due to her past history. Simmons, however, fought the decision and appealed to the state Supreme Court. Here’s where Randall’s association comes into play — as Simmons prepared to confront the court, Randall posted a Facebook message of support: “Rooting for Tarra Simmons, her legal team and civil rights today!” The Supreme Court unanimously found that Simmons “has the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in the State of Washington,” thereby reversing the board’s decision. The PAC’s political mailer painted a vastly different picture of Simmons — and by association, Randall, due to her support of Simmons. The
PORT ORCHARD — After a dispute escalated at a local coffee shop, a 16-year-old male was allegedly struck by a car driven by Ryan Minor, 21, on Sidney Parkway in Port Orchard on July 23. The collision is believed to be the result of a dispute between the victim and Minor’s 24-year-old brother at the Coffee Oasis shop in
MAILER, SEE PAGE 3
ASSAULT, SEE PAGE 2
By ZACH JABLONSKI Kitsap Daily News
ADVENTURE STARTS
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