Council rejects plan, wants more beaches
September 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
The City Council was nearly unanimous in its disapproval of a proposed waterfront park, estimated to cost at least $3 million, on Sept. 14. The park, known as Sammamish Landing is at the northern tip of the city, wedged between the East Lake Sammamish Parkway and Lake Sammamish.
Parks Director Jessi Richardson presented the council with a design for the park, drafted up by consultant The Berger Partnership after discussion with the public and the Parks Commission. The design showed the 3,000-foot-long strip of Lake Sammamish with a 36-car parking lot on the other side of East Lake Sammamish Parkway, with six small beaches, monuments, a bike trail, restrooms and a picnic pavilion.
The design also showed a pedestrian bridge going over the parkway, though Richardson told the council she didn’t recommend that feature.
What the park lacked was a significant swim beach area. Of the 3,000 total feet, the design set aside about 240 feet of shoreline for six small beaches.
City Councilman Lee Fellinge was the first to voice his displeasure.
“As I looked at this, I thought, why would someone come here? I’m not getting it. I’m sorry,” he said.
Others followed suit.
“To be honest with you, I’m a little disappointed,” Deputy Mayor Jack Barry said. “It seemed to me, from our initial discussion, this was going to be a waterfront park. I now hear that it’s a passive park. Maybe we should call it something else other than a waterfront park.”
“The price tag is humongous for the benefits you’re getting, I think,” City Councilwoman Nancy Whitten said.
The price is also not currently covered in the city budget.
The park appeared on the failed November 2008 parks bond.
The city’s plans at the time were to take $3 million from the overall $19 million bond to pay for construction in 2011. While the cost for designing the park ($200,000) is covered, the city has not budgeted for any work beyond the park’s design.
Some of the land for the park was given to Sammamish by the city of Redmond. Sammamish must complete the park by 2018 or that land will revert back to Redmond.
When Fellinge made his initial comments about beach access, Richardson explained that the park design showed limited beach access because the wetlands there were heavily regulated by various public agencies including the state Department of Ecology, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Army Corp of Engineers, and the city’s own shoreline development regulations.
Pauline Cantor, deputy chair of the Parks Commission, added later that the shoreline was considered environmentally sensitive, which partially explained why the commission and the city’s consultant had started referring to it as a “passive-use park” and not a “waterfront park.”
City Councilman Mark Cross, wary of environmental concerns, said he would not join his fellow council members in calling for more beach space – at least not until hearing more about the wetlands analysis of the area.
But City Manager Ben Yazici was quick to accommodate the council’s concerns about the beach access.
“This is the park that we have advertised as the waterfront park,” Yazici said. “We need to provide some beach access for our citizens.”
Richardson echoed Yazici’s comments, saying that she believed it was possible to rework the design so the public could have better beach access. To do so, the city would have to offset the impacts of replacing existing trees and vegetation, she said.
The design proposed Sept. 14 showed what the city could do with the current open spaces on the property, Richardson explained. She hopes to return to the City Council with a new proposal by the end of the year.
“We don’t always hit the mark,” she wrote in a later e-mail. “We’re working on modifications to the plan now.”
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The City Council was nearly unanimous in its disapproval of a proposed waterfront park, estimated to cost at least $3 million, on Sept. 14. The park, known as Sammamish Landing is at the northern tip of the city, wedged between the East Lake Sammamish Parkway and Lake Sammamish.
Parks Director Jessi Richardson presented the council with a design for the park, drafted up by consultant The Berger Partnership after discussion with the public and the Parks Commission. The design showed the 3,000-foot-long strip of Lake Sammamish with a 36-car parking lot on the other side of East Lake Sammamish Parkway, with six small beaches, monuments, a bike trail, restrooms and a picnic pavilion.
The strip of land along Lake Sammamish is heavily wooded. Photo by J.B. Wogan
Council funds park plan and social services
September 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
The City Council chose to fund youth counseling, a park plan and affordable housing projects at its Sept. 15 meeting.
In an agreement forged between the city, the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, Youth Eastside Services and Friends of Youth, the city approved a lease agreement for the Sween House, a building in the lower Sammamish Commons.
The decision was the final piece of negotiations to provide Youth Eastside Services and Friends of Youth with a space for youth counseling on the plateau.
The project became feasible after the water and sewer district’s Board of Commissioners agreed to allow the city to keep the Sween House running off a septic tank for the next 10 years. A previous agreement between the two agencies would have required the city to pay for a sewer line hook up.
Either the city or Youth Eastside Services could break the 10-year lease if it gave the other party a year’s notice.
Youth Eastside Services Executive Director Patti Skelton-McGougan told the council she was excited to open up shop on the plateau.
“We’re going to get going here and do a better job for you,” she said.
Council also gave the green light to a plan for turning Evans Creek Preserve into a more accessible city park.
The preserve is a 174-acre property, located north of Sahalee Way Northeast — just outside the city limits — that would have a restroom, two parking areas and walking trails.
The park is scheduled to undergo construction in the spring of 2011.
The council approved giving $100,000 to A Regional Coalition for Housing, an organization that collaborates with cities in east King County to raise money for affordable housing projects.
The funding would go toward a 47-unit development in Issaquah, proposed by the YWCA.
Even though the city has not invested in an affordable housing project in Sammamish yet, it has been donating funds to affordable housing projects through A Regional Coalition for Housing since 2002.
The city has paid roughly $785,000 to A Regional Coalition for Housing, an Eastside affordable housing agency. That money has helped pay for affordable housing projects in Redmond and Issaquah. Sammamish is one of 14 member cities in the coalition, along with Newcastle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and others.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
The City Council chose to fund youth counseling, a park plan and affordable housing projects at its Sept. 15 meeting.
In an agreement forged between the city, the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, Youth Eastside Services and Friends of Youth, the city approved a lease agreement for the Sween House, a building in the lower Sammamish Commons.
The decision was the final piece of negotiations to provide Youth Eastside Services and Friends of Youth with a space for youth counseling on the plateau. Read more
City finance employees honored
September 22, 2009
Finance Director Lyman Howard, Deputy Finance Director Aaron Antin and Accounting Manager Chris Gianini all received municipal finance awards in August.
The state Finance Officer’s Association, a professional group of finance officers from local public agencies across the state, gave out awards to 200 employees, according to Dawn Masko, the association’s chair.
Masko said finance officers had to undergo continuing finance education and attend conferences to receive the recognition.
All three of the Sammamish employees attended a state finance conference and went to monthly meetings held by the Puget Sound Finance Officer’s Association, Masko said.
Masko said the awards should serve as a reassurance to local citizens.
“It should let them know that the people who are taking care of the revenues in their city take their jobs seriously,” Masko said. “You want to make sure that the finance people who are working in their government know what they’re talking about.”
Finance Director Lyman Howard, Deputy Finance Director Aaron Antin and Accounting Manager Chris Gianini all received municipal finance awards in August.
The state Finance Officer’s Association, a professional group of finance officers from local public agencies across the state, gave out awards to 200 employees, according to Dawn Masko, the association’s chair. Read more
No major transportation projects through 2015
September 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
City Manager Ben Yazici told the City Council to prepare for no major construction projects in the next six years.
“We’re pushing all of the projects out,” he said Sept. 14.
Yazici explained that a lack of development in Sammamish had led to a severe shrinking of city revenues.
The city sets aside funds from impact fees for new construction and a percentage of local real estate sales to pay for new infrastructure. The council also sets aside some money from its general fund each year for transportation projects.
“Our transportation plan is built on the anticipated growth,” he said. “Growth has been slowing down significantly.”
Deputy Finance Chief Aaron Antin said the 2009 revenues that fund transportation projects would probably be smaller than what the city collected in 2008.
In 2008, the transportation fund received about $1.2 million from taxing real estate sales, $1.2 million from impact fees on new construction and about $4.8 million from the city’s general fund.
The city anticipates receiving $850,000 from the real estate excise tax in 2009.
It has collected about $450,000 in impact fees through August. Antin said he didn’t know whether the general fund amount would go down as well, as it is subject to council direction.
Yazici said the Public Works Department would still receive about $1 million a year for road repair and $1 million a year for sidewalks, bike lanes and walking paths.
Altogether, the city is scheduled to spend about $3 million per year from 2011-2014 on transportation projects, down from the roughly $16.6 million it’s scheduled to spend in 2010.
Councilwoman Michele Petitti observed that the change would alter the city’s Public Works focus in the near future.
“For the next six years, we’re just working on little things,” she said.
City Councilman Mark Cross suggested the city focus on working with surrounding public agencies to advocate for beneficial road projects that impact Sammamish, too.
City Councilman Lee Fellinge used the news about no more major road construction as an opportunity to talk about the council’s decisions thus far on East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
Fellinge said the parkway construction had been a constant source of misinformation.
He sought to summarize what happened, calling the cost of the work so far “a real bargain.”
The council voted 5-2 to approve a 2.5-mile, $44.5 million concept design of the parkway in January 2008, but much of the plan, while approved, is unfunded.
The council has approved funding for two mini-phases amounting to about eight-tenths of a mile for about $9 million, both of which were under the city’s cost estimates.
The council has not set aside any funds for the rest of the design.
The halting of all major road projects means that the rest of the 2.5-mile parkway design, which was originally scheduled for completion in 2020, isn’t scheduled to continue for at least another six years.
“In the next six years, there is absolutely nothing funded beyond phase 1A and 1B,” Fellinge said.
While unfunded, roughly $32.7 million in construction (including commuter bike lanes, a left-turn lane, and a sidewalk) scheduled for East Lake Sammamish Parkway after 2015, remains in the city’s long term plans.
Most members of the council have voiced an interest in revisiting the original concept design, suggesting some sort of a reduction in the project’s scope, though the council has not taken official action in that direction.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
City Manager Ben Yazici told the City Council to prepare for no major construction projects in the next six years.
“We’re pushing all of the projects out,” he said Sept. 14.
Yazici explained that a lack of development in Sammamish had led to a severe shrinking of city revenues. Read more
Council passes strict tree requirement for shores
September 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
It was scheduled to be the last night the City Council would debate shoreline building regulations.
The roughly 60-page document dealt with a range of issues that one Lake Sammamish shoreline homeowner, Mike Collins, has called “life or death for us.”
The questions before the council were spurred by a state Department of Ecology mandate to update the city’s current code: How long should your dock be? What kind of materials should you use? How far back should a house be from the shoreline? Would some requirement about protecting trees or native plants help water quality in local lakes?
At stake were the sometimes competing interests of private property rights and what’s best for Sammamish’s largest lakes.
After nearly nine months of discussion, City Councilman Mark Cross clashed with his colleagues on how strict to make the regulations.
In the case of dock lengths on Lake Sammamish and Pine and Beaver lakes, Cross voted for smaller docks.
“Bigger docks is simply not supportive of salmon recovery,” Cross said.
At other points in the evening, Cross spoke of the need to maximize the safety of salmon and other wildlife in the lakes.
In past meetings, Cross has advocated for a 15-foot vegetation buffer requirement on Pine and Beaver lakes (more than what council allowed) and a definition of how high the water gets in Lake Sammamish that would essentially push back the line where people can build their lakeshore homes.
Cross was the only council member who advocated against approving the current square-footage requirements for docks on all three lakes, plus an expanded allowed size for shared docks on Lake Sammamish.
The council voted 5-1 to allow 600-square-foot private docks and 800-square-foot joint-use docks on Lake Sammamish; it also approved 600-square-foot docks on Pine and Beaver lakes.
Cross represented the dissenting vote. City Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay was not present for the meeting.
Mayor Don Gerend and City Councilwoman Nancy Whitten, both residents of Pine Lake, argued in favor of protecting 80 percent of trees within the first 200 feet of Pine and Beaver lakes’ shoreline.
The council approved the decision 4-2, but not without some debate whether the 80 percent standard was too strict.
Community Development Director Kamuron Gurol cautioned the council that his staff had misgivings about the 80 percent standard, which he said might be hard to meet.
To illustrate his point, Gurol outlined a hypothetical scenario where a homeowner would buy a pristine lakefront property with no development.
That homeowner would only be able to remove 20 percent of “significant” trees within the first 200 feet of the shoreline. His proposal to make it somewhat easier to remove trees fell flat.
Gerend and Whitten both spoke to a common phenomenon they have witnessed on their own properties: fallen trees in the Pine Lake basin (due to development) have led to stronger currents and even more falling trees near the lake.
“It’s too much. It’s too generous. The trees keep coming down,” Whitten said.
Deputy Mayor Jack Barry joined Cross, Whitten and Gerend in voting to enforce the more stringent 200-foot, 80-percent standard.
One council vote that later became a source of humor was the term “liberal construction.”
The council voted 4-2 to leave the term in, which allows Gurol the ability to interpret and implement the shoreline building regulations in accordance with state law.
Rory Crispin, a Lake Sammamish property owner, had testified in a previous meeting that such language undermines the strength of the overall Shoreline Master Plan, giving Gurol (or whoever fills the Community Development Director position in the future) too much ability to stray from the intended use of the document. Crispin also said that the term “liberal construction” applied to the state Shoreline Management Act, not to the specific local codes implemented by public agencies like the city of Sammamish.
Gurol did not try to sway the council on how to vote.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal either way,” Gurol said, noting that City Attorney Bruce Disend had weighed in on the issue; Disend said the term “liberal construction” appeared to be appropriate for the city code, though he said a reasonable person argue otherwise.
Barry joined Gerend in voting to take it out, but not before asking for a more detailed explanation of what “liberal construction” meant.
Gurol joked that the term was related to whether the city would allow politically liberal individuals to build on the shoreline. Later in the meeting, whenever a question arose about how Gurol or his staff should implement a given regulation, Gurol teased that he would just apply liberal construction.
Though the council had scheduled to finish its deliberations by the end of the Sept. 15 meeting, it chose to delay final decisions until Oct. 6.
After the council takes its last vote on the plan, the city will pass on a completed document to the state Department of Ecology for a review.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
It was scheduled to be the last night the City Council would debate shoreline building regulations.
The roughly 60-page document dealt with a range of issues that one Lake Sammamish shoreline homeowner, Mike Collins, has called “life or death for us.”
The questions before the council were spurred by a state Department of Ecology mandate to update the city’s current code: How long should your dock be? What kind of materials should you use? How far back should a house be from the shoreline? Would some requirement about protecting trees or native plants help water quality in local lakes? Read more
Muslims celebrate Ramadan
September 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
As the Muslim call to prayer rang out, men, women and children, many dressed in traditional clothing of their ancestral homelands, scrambled into their respective rooms.
It was time for sunset prayer, one of the five daily prayers recited by Muslims, and on Sept. 13, about 100 Sammamish and Issaquah residents gathered to break the fast and celebrate Ramadan.
Sammamish resident Wassim Fayed recited the call and summoned them to gather on the rugs to begin prayers.
Moments before, most had broken a daylong fast by eating a few dates, which is traditional among Muslims.
Before that, no one had eaten since sunrise.
“You feel your best when you’re fasting,” said Fayed as he and other Sammamish residents prepared the dining room at Mary, Queen of Peace church.
More than a billion Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan, the “month of blessing,” in the ninth month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar, according to the Sammamish Muslims Association’s Web site.
Throughout the month, they focus on prayer, fasting and charity. Muslims believe that during Ramadan, God (“Allah” in Arabic) revealed the first verses of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.
While fasting, Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn to dusk.
“The whole month we worship to get closer to God,” Fayed said.
Although local Muslims, some from places like Jordan, Pakistan or India, prayed and feasted together various times during Ramadan, this gathering was mainly for Sammamish residents.
“It’s great to be together as a community and share important aspects of Ramadan: breaking fast,” Issaquah resident Hyder Ali said as everyone enjoyed platefuls of rice, chicken, kabobs and garbanzo bean salad. “It’s good to see friends and (eat) some good food. As I say: food for your stomach and food for your heart.”
For the past four years, The Sammamish Muslims Association, which has a small prayer room in Sammamish, has rented space in the downstairs at the Catholic church to celebrate Ramadan, Fayed said.
“They have been generous with us,” Fayed said.
The partnership has worked out well for both groups, but association members said they are working to raise funds for a facility larger than the apartment they rent on Inglewood Hill Road.
“We have a very vibrant Muslim community here,” said Rizwan Nasar, of Sammamish.
Ramadan ended Sept. 19, with the Eid-al-Fitr celebration, which is considered one of the most important Islamic celebrations.
Fayed said the official end of the Islamic holy month depends on when they observe the new moon.
“We follow the tradition, which is the sighting of the moon,” Fayed said.
The celebration took place at the Bellevue Hyatt and drew about 8,000 people from the Eastside, Nasar said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
As the Muslim call to prayer rang out, men, women and children, many dressed in traditional clothing of their ancestral homelands, scrambled into their respective rooms.
It was time for sunset prayer, one of the five daily prayers recited by Muslims, and on Sept. 13, about 100 Sammamish and Issaquah residents gathered to break the fast and celebrate Ramadan.
Sammamish resident Wassim Fayed recited the call and summoned them to gather on the rugs to begin prayers.
Rifat Rashid, left, and Arman Khan break the fast by eating dates just before sunset prayers Sept. 15. Photo by Christopher Huber
David Hall gains new life after kidney transplant
September 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
As David Hall waited for the call from UCLA surgeons June 19 from his son and daughter’s home in Santa Clarita, Calif., he did anything he could to think positive and occupy the time.
Doctors had summoned the longtime Sammamish resident to Southern California for a possible kidney transplant and promised they would call with good or bad news by 9 or 10 p.m.
Hall paced around the house, played with the pets and tried to enjoy the warm sun.
But after struggling for 10 years on dialysis and treatment for renal failure, he needed good news. He needed a match.
“You have a better chance of winning the Mega Millions than getting a kidney,” Hall said.
Nine o’clock came and went. No call.
Ten o’clock came and went. No call.
But when Audry, the UCLA transplant coordinator, called at 11 p.m., she had good news.
The 58-year-old Hall was a match with a 20-year-old donor.
By 11:40 p.m., Hall was on a gurney, being prepped for surgery, he said.
The procedure lasted 15 hours (five hours in surgery), and his body took to the new left kidney.
“When you first come off, you’re excited,” he said of the feeling of relief after the surgery.
The doctors knew immediately that the surgery was a success.
“You know right away it was working,” he said.
Hall said he spent another month recovering in a hospitality house.
There, he met and prayed with a lot of people who had also been changed profoundly through their battles with cancer, kidney failure or other illnesses.
Most people don’t realize what it means to get a second chance, Hall said.
He once worked for Microsoft, but in 1999, overcome by stress and high blood pressure, his kidneys failed.
He had pulled an all-nighter at work then felt woosy. He woke up three days later at Overlake Hospital.
Hall spent approximately 9,360 hours on dialysis before he got a kidney.
That’s six hours a day, three days a week for 10 years. Thinking back on it all, he jokes that dialysis was the only meeting he never missed.
“The longer you’re on dialysis, the harder it is on your body. It’s a full-time job,” he said. “It’s just like a death sentence.”
But during the experience, he said, he had to remain positive and upbeat.
Like many, he battled depression and the sense of being a burden on those around him.
Through it all, members of Hall’s church, Eastridge Christian Assembly, supported him by driving him to work or the hospital or paying for his plane tickets to Los Angeles in June.
“I was fortunate,” Hall said. “I somehow, by providence, was able to be sustained for so long. This is one of many miracles (in my life).”
Hall stressed that it is the little things that people help with that make all the difference in one’s fight with illnesses like renal failure.
Former Eastridge members Brian and Debra Herdeg — they now live in Southern California — were among Hall’s closest friends who lent assistance when he needed it most.
They would drive him to appointments or help him financially to get to UCLA.
“To see a person go through it and try to get through life, it’s an amazing struggle, and to see how David hung in there … you look at that and you have to respect that,” Brian Herdeg said. “You see opportunities to help and you just have to do what God puts on your heart.”
Hall said his recovery is ongoing: he still has sporadic abdominal pain; he can only be active for a few hours each day and he has to take numerous medications.
He makes a trip to UCLA once a month so doctors can monitor his new kidney.
The greatest change, he said, is that he is no longer ill or tied to a chair.
“You look at things different,” Hall said.
But the whole experience has inspired him to tell his own story and educate people about the importance of being an organ donor.
As of noon, Sept. 14, 103,485 people in the United States were waiting for a transplant, according to OrganDonor.gov.
And According to United Network for Organ Sharing, in the first six months of 2009, just 7,250 people donated organs, enabling 14,191 transplants.
People, by having “organ donor” on their driver’s license, can fill the immense needs around the country, Hall said. Sign up to be an organ donor at www.organdonor.gov.
Hall’s story “brings to mind how we tend to take health for granted,” Brian Herdeg said. “And we tend … not to want to focus in on people who have a health issue … because we don’t want to feel uncomfortable, but sometimes we miss out on opportunities to help.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
As David Hall waited for the call from UCLA surgeons June 19 from his son and daughter’s home in Santa Clarita, Calif., he did anything he could to think positive and occupy the time.
Doctors had summoned the longtime Sammamish resident to Southern California for a possible kidney transplant and promised they would call with good or bad news by 9 or 10 p.m.
Hall paced around the house, played with the pets and tried to enjoy the warm sun.
David Hall stands with doctors and surgeons after his successful kidney transplant in June at UCLA Medical Center. Contributed
Eastlake principal feels at home in his new job
September 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Eastlake High School’s new principal, Greg Schellenberg, is filling some big shoes, coming in after the retirement of Rondel Hardie, the school’s founding principal.
After working as a teacher and administrator for the past 18 years in China, Saudi Arabia, Puyallup and Gig Harbor, Schellenberg seems to be settling in nicely as the Wolves’ top administrator.
He sat down with the Sammamish Review to chat about his first few weeks of school and his outlook for Eastlake.
How is your new job as
principal going so far?
It’s been fantastic. I’m transitioning from another high school principalship, so I’m familiar with the framework. But coming here to Eastlake is something special.
The professionalism of the staff jumps out right away — their talents and passion.
The kids themselves are phenomenal. There’s so many things in motion here it’s just astounding, it really is … it’s something pretty special.
What are your thoughts about filling some big shoes from
Roni Hardie?
With every respect to her, she’s phenomenal. Everything that I’ve talked about how wonderful Eastlake is, it’s largely because of her. Things that were important to her while she was here, they’re intact because of her.
My initial plan here is to be an observer, a learner and to figure out how things are done here, because the way they’re done here are very good.
How does working here
compare with Gig Harbor?
On one hand schools are schools. One of the reasons I’m here — and lot of people would ask, ‘Why move here, Gig Harbor is a good school?’ — (is) out there and around the state, and what I’m aware of, Lake Washington School District has a reputation that’s unparalleled.
Eastlake has a reputation that it’s an entity that’s something special. When there’s an opportunity to come to here from there, that’s really something I wanted to try to do. Now that I’m here, I’m just thrilled.
Any surprises thus far?
I’d say Friday nights. We’ve had two home football games and the environment there is just amazing.
I’d say I’ve been surprised by just the welcoming nature of the kids.
Day after day I have kids coming up and say, ‘I hear you’re the new principal,’ introduce themselves and we have a short conversation.
They’re wanting that relationship with the principal. I’m not having to walk up to kids at the table and say, ‘hi, I’m the new principal.’ They’re seeking me out.
What’s your educational philosophy?
For any school, my platform is that a school is a business of people. And you look at all the different relationships that go on. You want to maximize the frequency and the positiveness of all those relationships. For teachers that do have higher expectations from kids, I think they’re going to achieve that better if they have a higher relationship with kids.
I just want to do this business in a way that will honor people. The more deposits you have in the bank the easier it is to be able to tell people, ‘well, no, we’re not going to do that.’ It needs to be done in a way that keeps people front and center. And kids are the most important people here.
What’s your ideal high school look like?
Part of what’s frustrating now in high schools is that there’s so much emphasis on kids meeting all the standards, that for many students it’s taken away their ability to explore. High schools used to thrive on exploratory programs. Some of that is lost a little bit. I’m not saying that’s bad because I think that has its good attributes, too.
I would want just to make sure those kids leave and that they’re going down the path and can say, ‘thanks Eastlake, you got me as prepared as possible for what I want to do in my life.’
What kinds of expectations do you have for students and staff at Eastlake?
I expect students to be involved. That can be that they’re actually participating in something. They can be a fan or they can be in a support role. I expect that they’re reaching out in a number of ways. Kind of similarly to staff. I want them to have an invitational environment.
I want them to set the table so that people want to be there, in their classroom. I want them to be willing to reach out when there’s a need; keep track of kids. But really, just to contribute. Everybody’s playing a part in this Eastlake machine.
How have you dealt with any problems or issues posed, having come to Eastlake during a funding crisis?
The most glaring one here at Eastlake is the advisory to homeroom shift that we’ve done. Going back to Roni, this was a legacy that was pretty phenomenal. The budget loss of that was the stipend that goes with that for the teacher. There’s an allowance for homeroom, but it’s not what advisory was, in terms of expected connections with kids.
That’s been kind of a management issue, of defining what the homeroom looks like.
Part of the legacy here is that advisory was the fabric that kept this place together. There’s a huge sentiment that we want to maintain that, from the staff. They want to keep what was important about Eastlake alive.
I was an outsider coming in and I really appreciated the way the district handled (the budget cuts).
The district is considering moving toward four-year high schools. What kind of changes does that entail for Eastlake and how will you lead that?
The clear change is that you’re adding a whole other grade of students. I think it impacts facilities. I think it impacts Eastlake’s enrollment boundaries. You can’t add another 500 students here, but you have to expect you’re going to change the facility to house that many students.
I think as a culture here that’s where we want to be real intentional about it. How can we empower the freshmen to be part of Eastlake right off the bat? How can we work so that we’re transition freshmen and sophomores and then you become a leader as a junior and senior for the building? That certainly needs to be looked at very carefully and intentionally.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Eastlake High School’s new principal, Greg Schellenberg, is filling some big shoes, coming in after the retirement of Rondel Hardie, the school’s founding principal.
After working as a teacher and administrator for the past 18 years in China, Saudi Arabia, Puyallup and Gig Harbor, Schellenberg seems to be settling in nicely as the Wolves’ top administrator.
He sat down with the Sammamish Review to chat about his first few weeks of school and his outlook for Eastlake.
New Eastlake principal Greg Schellenberg sits at his desk Sept. 16. Photo by Christopher Huber
Title IX has helped her
September 22, 2009
By Brittany Cardoza
With the fall sports season kicking into gear for high schools around the area, an issue nearly 40 years old is brought to the front of my mind, Title IX.
This law, for those who do not know, was enacted June 23, 1972.
It was designed to ensure that women and men have equal access to educational opportunities.
While it has been used to open up areas like math and the sciences to women, it most frequently comes up in athletics.
Access to sports should be equal for all students. Everyone should be given equal opportunity.
However, the academic benefits are just as notable.
In 1972, 9 percent of medical degrees went to women. In 1994, after the implementation of Title IX, 38 percent of medical degrees went to women. This statistic shows the importance of Title IX in today’s society.
My doctor is a woman, and I don’t know that I could feel comfortable having a male pediatrician.
Without Title IX, I may not have had a choice.
Title IX’s impacts on athletics are most well known. For example; Title IX provides women’s basketball teams in high school and college equal funding when compared to men’s basketball.
Locker rooms must be consistent for women and men and provide the same amenities. In college athletics, Title IX ensures that male and female athletes receive equal financial aid, as well as equal recruitment.
In addition, men and women must have equal practice and game time, fair and equal support services, and publicity must be distributed evenly.
All in all, Title IX creates an even playing field (excuse the pun) for male and female athletes everywhere.
This law is very important to me. Although some male athletes may believe the law limits their ability to receive scholarships and reduces funding for many collegiate club sports, I still believe there should be equality in sports.
Participating and competing in youth and high school athletics has made an impact on my personal development while contributing to a positive and rewarding childhood experience. I believe I would not be as confident in my capabilities had it not been for the opportunity to participate and compete in athletics throughout my life. The benefits of Title IX will continue to provide young women with opportunities leading to a stronger more productive society for all.
With the fall sports season kicking into gear for high schools around the area, an issue nearly 40 years old is brought to the front of my mind, Title IX.
This law, for those who do not know, was enacted June 23, 1972.
It was designed to ensure that women and men have equal access to educational opportunities. Read more
Grant expands Skyline music lab
September 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Skyline senior James Nielsen plays and sings in nearly every music group at the high school. He plays euphonium in the concert band, trombone in the jazz band and sousaphone in the pep band. He even sings in the concert choir.
But what he seems most excited about this school year is what he and his classmates will be able to play during piano lab class.
Obviously, they will be learning keyboarding skills, such as writing tunes with music software or practicing a new playing style. But the excitement comes from the prospect of doubling the size of the lab and upgrading the outdated software. Until the school receives its new equipment this fall, only 10 students of the 25-student class are able to play a keyboard at a time.
“Half of the time, half of the class is not able to participate,” Nielsen said. The software we have now works, but it’s antique.”
The Skyline PTSA recently granted the school’s fine arts program $10,000 to expand its music technology lab. The money will help the school purchase 10 new keyboard pianos and accompanying software.
“These dollars will touch everybody across the school,” said PTSA co-president Caroline Brown.
She said that since students must complete some fine arts credits to graduate, the school needs to provide ample curriculum opportunity despite lacking state funding.
The PTSA has worked with Principal Lisa Hechtman to create room in the master schedule for three new entry-level class periods, said PTSA co-president Heather Gillette.
“It’s just one of those things that the timing just worked out and that it presented itself,” Gillette said.
Skyline choir teacher Nancy Ziebart, who worked with Hechtman and the PTSA to direct the funds, said the grant opens up more opportunity to students who may not have taken music to fulfill fine arts credits.
“My excitement is that we will then be able to add a piano class here,” Ziebart said.
Skyline currently offers classes in concert band, jazz band, concert choir, vocal jazz, Skyline Symphony, IB music study, music technology, movies and music and guitar.
“This allows for students who maybe aren’t involved in the arts already to find a niche,” Ziebart said.
Nielsen said students often have trouble with software-keyboard compatibility, thus creating problems during class. He said the new software and equipment will streamline the music recording and writing process.
“It’s making it more accessible to a ‘now” situation and to everyone all the time,” he said. It will make everything easier. It makes life so much simpler. What we’ve got now, it works, it’ll do, but the efficiency aspect we can get twice as much stuff done.”
All of the money raised for the grant came from the PTSA’s Pass the Hat donation drive during the fall PTSA sign-up time, Brown said.
The PTSA awarded the Skyline science department an $8,500 grant in 2008.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Skyline senior James Nielsen plays and sings in nearly every music group at the high school. He plays euphonium in the concert band, trombone in the jazz band and sousaphone in the pep band. He even sings in the concert choir.
But what he seems most excited about this school year is what he and his classmates will be able to play during piano lab class. Read more
