What kind of schools should I apply to?

What kind of schools should be built for about 2,700 K-12 students on a budget of $150 million?

• On February 11, the Sequim School District Board of Directors adopted resolution 03-2013-2014 authorizing an election to be held April 22, 2014. The election would ask voters to approve or reject the issue of $154,325,000 in bonds to finance the construction of projects recommended by the Community Facilities Committee. Details here: http://www.sequimschools.wednet.edu/Page/3630 There is one good reason to raise lots of money now through bonds: interest rates are very low and are likely to go up considerably. Locking in a low rate makes sense. However, what I am missing in the current debate so far is a vision how schools can make the learning process most efficient by incorporating the best of current and future technologies. Such a vision determines what kind of buildings are needed. Will we spend $150 million and end up with the same old thing only in a new costume, because we did not plan for the teaching and learning process of the future?

• Answer:

  I think a reasonable conclusion is that the school district will build a building just like other buildings used for education for the past century. They will add a few wrinkles -- a computer room for example. Because educational methods have not changed appreciably in many centuries, a change in architecture is unlikely to occur or be necessary, since teachers will still be in classrooms doing what their teachers did fifty years ago. Of course the "blackboards" may be replaced by electronic whiteboards, but that is in keeping with "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" -- the more things change, the more they remain the same. Realistically, not building a building and having kids stay at home with a computer might make more sense if we wanted better education.