Cheney Schools thanks community for support

Thank you so very much for your overwhelming support of our Educational Programs/Maintenance and Operations Levy! This local funding provided through the levy ensures the continuation of our programs and the staffing levels on which we rely to provide a quality educational experience to our students.

The levy supports virtually all areas of district operation in each and every school in our district. We appreciate your support and will continue to make the best use of the resources that you have provided. 

The School Construction Bond to add onto the current Cheney High School to accommodate growth and address other unmet needs received 58.41 percent support. This, too, is a wonderful level of support; however, the bond needed 60 percent support to pass. We fell short of that mark by 100 yes votes. 

Your board of directors has an important decision to make in the next few weeks about the high school construction bond. We know that Cheney High School will have 30 more students next year than this year and that 150 more students are projected to be at Cheney High School within five years. We also know that we already have 15 portable classrooms on our high school campus.  

The construction bond proposal addressed the enrollment growth and also safety and security issues at our high school. The proposal also addressed the needs of our band and music programs and our co-curricular athletic programs. Finally, the construction bond proposal addressed congestion and the lack of cafeteria space at Cheney High School. 

I have no doubt that Cheney High School staff will continue to provide a high quality education to the children it serves; however, I’m wondering if the learning environment is what is best for the children. 

Please consider sharing your perspective on the high school construction bond at our next regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. at Salnave Elementary School. Your board of directors made the decision to bring the construction bond forward to the community in February. We are hoping you can help us to determine the most appropriate next step.

Henry C. Browne, Jr.

Cheney School Board

President