It’s true that the Lincoln Building still stands, but it’s not true that $500,000 of voter-approved and allocated funds for the building were “diverted” as claimed in a letter by Tom Thiersch in the Jan. 29 Leader. Close to $455,000 continues to reside in the Lincoln Building Capital Projects Fund which can be easily confirmed by the financial reports provided to the school board and public every month, without fail.

In 2012 the Port Townsend School District ran its first Capital Projects Levy to address the backlog of capital needs the district was facing. One of those needs was the Lincoln Building which at that time housed the business office, student records, superintendent’s office, the school board’s meeting room and acted as warehouse for surplus books, uniforms, equipment, and broken parts.  The building had been condemned for student use many years prior. It sat mostly unoccupied and unheated--birds lived upstairs and rats lived in the basement. A rough estimate for demolition of the building in 2012 was $500,000, an amount the board agreed to include in the levy for the building as part of its long-range facilities planning.

Since the collection of those original funds – more than a decade ago -- $45,000 has been spent on the Lincoln Building.

The board and the district are committed to open processes, transparency and responsible stewardship of our taxpayers’ money. We do not take the community’s ongoing support of its schools for granted.

John Nowak

Chair, PTSD Board of Directors

Jennifer James-Wilson

Director