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State nears decision on timber funds October 7, 2003 Olympia, WA - The state Board of Natural Resources will soon decide how much timber to harvest on state lands, and, therefore, the amount available for school construction. The Washington State School Directors' Association will sponsor a videoconference from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 to provide an update on the decision and review how the various options will affect school districts. In Vancouver, the videoconference will be at the offices of Education Service District No. 112, 2500 N.E. 65th Ave. Participants should contact Linda Lowery in advance at 800-562-8927 or L.Lowery wssda.org. The Board of Natural Resources, which includes state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson, is mulling six options as it sets direction for the state timberland management over the next 10 years. Depending on the level of environmental protection, harvest rotations and other factors, revenue for school construction, counties, libraries, universities and other state services ranges between $106 million and $211 million annually. Historically, trust lands have contributed about one-third of all construction funding for K-12 schools. |