There has been a lot talk about old missile sites and new schools here lately. As the North Kitsap School District continues with plans to build the new Kingston High School, several residents have raised concerns that the site is located near a decommissioned Nike missile site. Residents are worried that the site may dangerous, contaminated by chemicals that have seeped into the ground as they have at other sites in the country.

So far, the school district has been relying on reports by the Corps of Engineers, which cleaned the site up after it was closed. That’s not good enough for Kingston residents, and it shouldn’t be. The district should pursue, conduct or commission its own tests to cement the safety of the site. Further tests may be expensive or awkward to conduct, but they should be made anyway for two reasons.

First and most obvious: the safety of the children, parents and teachers who will spend years at the new high school. Second: As long as the district relies on older tests, people will doubt the site, whether it’s safe or not.

If tests are able prove conclusively that the site is safe, then those interested in the project — a list that should include everyone in North Kitsap — can go back to discussing room size, trail potential, ballfields and the other hundreds of details that go into a new school site.

If those tests aren’t made, the arguments over safety will go on, and on, and on.

The district should purchase a insurance policy rather than face an army of questions about toxins. And better a small outlay of funds now than a potential $30 million mistake down the road.