I’ve been a Federal Way resident for 23 years and my husband for more than 40. Our girls graduated from Todd Beamer High School and are well on their way in college and beyond.

But we’re not just “Titan” parents. We are proud of all students in Federal Way. It’s our job as citizens to provide safe and healthy schools where students spend six hours or more a day.

The time is right to rebuild Federal Way High School. In the kind of economy we’ve had for the past five years, contractors bid jobs lower. They need the work and are willing to reduce their profit margin. The Federal Way School District has been able to build five schools over the past four years for quite a bit less than originally estimated.

Altogether, there’s around $23 million in unused state match funds and bond dollars left from the last bond measure. Combine that with the conservative estimate of $27 million in state match funding that the approval of this capital levy will trigger. Added together, these two figures mean the district already has $50 million to put toward the capital projects on this levy. This means that the district has nearly half the cost of rebuilding the school covered — once the citizens approve the upcoming capital levy.

The cost will be about 92 cents for every $1,000 your home is assessed by the county, or $92 per $100,000. For the average Federal Way home valued at $260,000, the cost will be around 60 cents per day.

It’s a smart investment. Costs to rebuild will only go up as the economy improves. I urge you to vote yes for the Federal Way Public Schools capital levy on Nov. 6.

Teri Hickel, Federal Way