Much is often made of the disparities between schools in Chehalis and Centralia.
The Chehalis School District attracts more students from nearby districts than any other in the greater Lewis County area, and the reasons are relatively uniform.
Academically, it is currently a better option for many. That’s not to say the Centralia district is a poor option. The fact is that it serves a much different demographic, one with a smaller median income and larger number of students who first have to master English as a second language.
Centralia also hasn’t historically had the benefit of wealthy benefactors such as Jim Lintott and former Starbucks CEO Orin Smith.
They, and others, have funneled millions of dollars into the district through the incredibly successful Chehalis Foundation, a group made up of prominent community members who work tirelessly to raise money and improve the district.
Chehalis showed an early focus on STEM just as experts were heralding the possibilities it opens in the job market for students. Now, they’re doubling down.
Due to legislative wrangling — a product of having members who are acutely aware of the operations of state government — the district recently landed $5.5 million in state money to improve its STEM facilities. When the question of a $100,000 match from the district arose, it was essentially already taken care of.
That’s a relatively small contribution from the Chehalis Foundation in comparison to past financial infusions. It dedicated $1.5 million to school initiatives just last year.
That brings us back to Centralia, which had to work hard on the grant application process to land its own $3.6 million STEM grant from the state. That $100,000 local match is much less than a forgone conclusion in the Hub City, where the district still needs to raise the full amount to receive its grant award.
Part of the reason for that could be that there is no equivalent in Centralia to the Chehalis Foundation.
That could soon change. And it should.
The Centralia City Council will debate the topic at its meeting next week. Staff has recommended an expenditure of $20,000 to launch a foundation in a model similar to what Chehalis has done.
Words fail to describe what an obvious and excellent idea this truly is.
Chehalis schools are not inherently better than those in Centralia. The students are not better. They don’t have better alumni.
What Centralia has not had is a dedicated team that is reaching out to connect those people with the city and school district with a plan for improvement and a request for support.
It’s time for Centralia to actively take a huge stride toward improvement after several years of notable positive developments, such as the hiring of Superintendent Mark Davalos and the acceptance of a multimillion dollar grant to improve its science, technology, engineering and mathematics focus, among others.
We hope the district fully embraces the idea and spirit of a foundation, and we’re thankful to the city council for making it a priority and offering the money to launch it.
