
Opinion: The people behind the numbers in the Hockinson School Bond

Area resident Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun offers her insight and perspective on the Hockinson School Bond
Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun
for Clark County Today
At first glance, the Hockinson school bond measure looks like every school bond conversation everywhere. Parents and administrators enthuse over things the new bond would provide: a second elementary school, safety improvements at existing schools, a high school career and technical building, a covered outdoor area at the middle school, improved traffic flow at the current elementary school, a new high school track, and artificial turf on the high school football/soccer field.

Opponents argue that the $88 million dollar bond, on top of an existing bond and levies, is too expensive for a small, semi-rural community with no industry and few businesses.
But dig a little deeper, and there’s much more to see.
Nestled into the foothills of the Cascades, downtown Hockinson is still barely more than a wide spot in the road: three churches, two schools, two small markets, a fire station, a gas station, and a stop sign. The huge white frame Cloverleaf Mercantile & Event Center building, built in 1931 by the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters and commonly known as Finn Hall, stands as a mute memorial to the town’s origins as a largely Finnish farming and logging community.
But people came, and kept coming – from Oregon, California, Seattle, and other places – attracted by cheaper land, rural beauty, and good schools. Now the community is a mixture of tiny farmhouses and huge new homes; of three generations on the same road and recent arrivals.
On the surface the bond conversation revolves around data: num