As the timeline buck is passed from the North Kitsap School District to Kane Environmental to the Environmental Protection Agency and, most recently, to Kitsap County, we wonder whose hands it’ll land in next.

The hourglass sand is falling away.

If the permits from Kitsap County are all that are needed to make the high school in Kingston a go, the work should be able to get under way by early August, which will put it pretty close to NKSD’s projected start date. The county has estimated its Conditional Use Permit process will take anywhere from two to four months to wrap up. Even on the long end, the county should have it done in time — if all goes well.

It may be a big “if” though.

The CUP is the most important permit the district needs to bid and start the project. But should the county opt to hold it until the EPA’s final report is done Aug. 27, the entire proposal will be “late for school.”

As EPA officials sift through new issues at the site, public input will be playing a key role as well.

Some claim the site is contaminated and that chemical residues have been making neighbors at the site ill for years. While the timing of the allegations is somewhat suspect, the organization that handled a brief environmental study at the neighborhood last summer — Twiss Analytical — has an excellent reputation.

Whether or not EPA confirms the data is yet to be determined.

Should Kitsap County Department of Community Development officials decide to grant the CUP based on the district’s final Environmental Impact Statement — due next month — and Kane’s report, the EPA’s final analysis in late August could shake things up or calm them down completely.

If the site is deemed safe by the EPA and the permit has already been issued, all’s well. If not, the decision on how or whether to proceed will land back in the lap of the NKSD Board. Some members of the board are already at ends over the site and a “hazardous” rating on the property would likely be more than enough for the district to start reviewing other options.

Proponents and opponents of the site are all concerned about the safety of North Kitsap’s most important resource — its children. Despite being at odds over everything from ballfields and wetlands to environmental assessments, we hope that they don’t lose sight of this fact. This school, and all schools, is about improving the lives of kids we know and love. And thousands more in years to come. Let’s make sure we don’t pass the buck to them.As the timeline buck is passed from the North Kitsap School District to Kane Environmental to the Environmental Protection Agency and, most recently, to Kitsap County, we wonder whose hands it’ll land in next.

The hourglass sand is falling away.

If the permits from Kitsap County are all that are needed to make the high school in Kingston a go, the work should be able to get under way by early August, which will put it pretty close to NKSD’s projected start date. The county has estimated its Conditional Use Permit process will take anywhere from two to four months to wrap up. Even on the long end, the county should have it done in time — if all goes well.

It may be a big “if” though.

The CUP is the most important permit the district needs to bid and start the project. But should the county opt to hold it until the EPA’s final report is done Aug. 27, the entire proposal will be “late for school.”

As EPA officials sift through new issues at the site, public input will be playing a key role as well.

Some claim the site is contaminated and that chemical residues have been making neighbors at the site ill for years. While the timing of the allegations is somewhat suspect, the organization that handled a brief environmental study at the neighborhood last summer — Twiss Analytical — has an excellent reputation.

Whether or not EPA confirms the data is yet to be determined.

Should Kitsap County Department of Community Development officials decide to grant the CUP based on the district’s final Environmental Impact Statement — due next month — and Kane’s report, the EPA’s final analysis in late August could shake things up or calm them down completely.

If the site is deemed safe by the EPA and the permit has already been issued, all’s well. If not, the decision on how or whether to proceed will land back in the lap of the NKSD Board. Some members of the board are already at ends over the site and a “hazardous” rating on the property would likely be more than enough for the district to start reviewing other options.

Proponents and opponents of the site are all concerned about the safety of North Kitsap’s most important resource — its children. Despite being at odds over everything from ballfields and wetlands to environmental assessments, we hope that they don’t lose sight of this fact. This school, and all schools, is about improving the lives of kids we know and love. And thousands more in years to come. Let’s make sure we don’t pass the buck to them.