Dan Seaberg doesn’t want voters to have any misconceptions when they cast their ballots on the $29,690,000 building project Annandale School Board members will ask them to approve Thursday, Sept. 10. That’s why he and three other Annandale graduates – Jim Miller, Alicia and Sam Millner – have created the "Let’s Build" Committee as a source of information for people who live in the Annandale School District to make informed decisions come election day. They are armed with promotional signs and T-shirts, a web site filled with facts about the project and a Facebook page where residents are invited to ask questions and have them answered by a member of the school board. "My objective is to make sure the right information is getting out as much as possible," Seaberg said. "I have two goals: make sure everyone knows the real reason the school board is putting this to the voters so they have the tools to make informed decisions. "And second, to get as many people involved with this as possible because that is the best way to effect change." On Sept. 10, residents of the Annandale School District will be presented with two questions: No. 1, do voters approve building a new prekindergarten through fifth-grade school, tennis courts and enough ballfields to replace the ones lost during construction. No. 2, do voters approve building a finished athletic complex with one more baseball and softball field, multi-use fields, lighting for the three varsity ball fields, bathrooms, bleachers and concession stand for $2,250,000. "I thought this was a good, strong proposal and an excellent opportunity," Miller said. "I kept up on the first vote (which failed decisively in December). I tried to learn as much as I could, but I didn’t get involved much. "Things sounded a lot more negative then. But the school board looked at why that first vote didn’t go well and they addressed that in this proposal." Sam and Alicia Millner, and Miller are all 1998 AHS graduates and parents of young children who are likely to attend Bendix Elementary School in coming years. Seaberg, a 1992 graduate, has three children under the age of 4. "My main reason (for joining the group) is my kids," Sam Millner said. "I don’t want them to go through the same school I did." Bendix has many deficiencies according to officials, including too few windows, an unsafe parking lot, crumbling exterior brick and wall-less classrooms that do nothing to block out distractions. He still remembers his years at Bendix: "You’d be sitting in class and hear the class next to you erupt in laughter. Then the naughty kid would run around (to the next pod) and check it out. "When he didn’t come back the teacher would have to go get him. It took 20 minutes to get back to work." From Tuesday, Sept 8, (the first day of school) until election day voters can judge for themselves the deficiencies at Bendix by touring the building. Contact the district office at 274-5602 for more information . The Millners and Seaberg were involved in a similar promotional effort last December when school board members asked for $45 million for a prekindergarten through eighth-grade school, several additions to the high school and a new sports complex that eventually failed. "We felt we didn’t do enough," Alicia Millner said. "We weren’t as organized." This time around, the web site, www.newannandaleschool.org, offers another source of information. The site is broken into a question and answer section, a "why now?" section and a section dedicated to the tax implications of the proposal. The web site also includes a link to another site where voters can calculate their individual tax increase. Seaberg guesses www.newannandaleschool.org averages about 15 unique visits a day. The site also has a link to the committee’s Facebook page where school board member Doug Kantor has been answering questions about the proposed building plan. "He’s really good with the specifics and it’s nice to have someone who is directly involved," Seaberg said. Besides the web site the committee has a collection of promotional items including bumper stickers, clothing and yard signs that are on sale online and at M&M Bus Service Inc. in Annandale. All proceeds go toward promoting the election. The four organizers, along with dozens of other volunteers, have also created flyers that they have been distributing at local events such as the Farmers Market in Annandale and school open houses. They also use word-of-mouth to spread as much correct information as they can. "We all have roots here and we just want to give back to the community that gave us so much," Alicia Millner said. "We want to ensure that our community is here for a long time." Although there is opposition to the proposed building project, there appears to be no organized effort to promote a "no" vote on Sept. 10.
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