This one seems to be a case of “seemed like a good idea at the time.” But even so, when the Marine Science Society of the Pacific Northwest (as it is so adamant about being called) decided to sell off numerous displays at the Marine Science Center in Poulsbo to pay off its debt in rapid fashion, we’re wondering just how such a thing could have ever been considered to begin with.

True, the MSC is a financial albatross. But when the MSSPNW declared that the center was facing imminent closure and called upon the community for assistance, it should have at least had the decency to allow the public to respond. The city and the North Kitsap School District were both working with the society toward a transition that would still benefit local students, but that plan went out the window when MSSPNW decided to go it alone.

As if the society’s covert pillaging of the center wasn’t bad enough, the fact remains that some of the contents at the MSC were donations from members of the community. Others were the result of fund-raising efforts and hard-fought for grants. We feel that after 15 years, the society’s decision to ignore the memorandum of understanding is a pretty lame farewell.

It’s an insult, really.

The MSC is a shell of its former self but unlike a hermit crab, it pretty much has nowhere to crawl into and call home.

Not that we’re trying to paint all the group’s members with a single brush but as the saying goes, a few bad eggs can spoil the carton. It’s a shame, too. Some of them are great folks. Patrick Mus, the MSSPNW’s former director of operations at the center, immediately comes to mind as one of the latter.

So, the near empty building remains. What doesn’t is any clear and unselfish reason why, after asking for help, the MSSPNW left the city and the school district wondering whether the memorandum of understanding was ever fully understood.