FROM THE DESK OF...

Tom Seigel Superintendent

Summertime is almost over, and I want to thank all of our dedicated staff who have been working this summer to maintain our schools, transporting and teaching students in summer school classes and, of course, serving lunch to thousands of students through our annual summer lunch program.

This past year you have heard from me about the need for more resources in our corner of the county. With more than 124,000 residents (which is 13.1% of Pierce County's population) we are getting far less than our fair share. Presently our area has less than 4% of the county resources, such as libraries, parks, and transit, and no county service offices.

Our community has the highest level of inequality based on the county's own analysis, and it is only going to get worse unless there is significant action taken soon. If this concerns you, I want to encourage you to reach out to your elected officials and let them know.

With that in mind, I have just received the latest population projections for Bethel. The forecast states that by 2030, seven short years from now, we will have grown by an additional 20,000 residents. Counting students only, that will be over 1,000 new students in five years. Twenty years from now, there will be an additional 51,000 residents.

Seeing this growth on the horizon, I am thankful to our voters who, in 2019, passed a muchneeded School Construction Bond. Last year we opened our 18th elementary school, and our 19th will open in the coming years. We will soon be opening the New Naches Trail Elementary, and the expansion of Graham-Kapowsin High School will be wrapping up soon as well. You can read more about these projects and more on the next few pages.

I hope that you and yours have been enjoying your summer break. We are looking forward to having your students back in our classrooms very soon.

Yours,

Tom Seigel Superintendent