It's Friday morning September 22, 2023. We just got off the phone with the Evergreen School District HR; Evergreen Teachers Association Union office; Camas School District HR and Battle Ground HR. We contacted Evergreen and Camas to get copies of the newly approved teachers contracts. Neither contract is published and there is no target date for publication. Both districts said that once the teachers have approved the contract the district must then go through a review process to correct any wording and formatting. The proposed final document then goes back to the Union with any revisions and then back to the district, rinse and repeat until it's approved by both parties. In the case of … [Read more...]
Evergreen School District – Compensation history 2016 to 2022
Here's the snapshot of the earnings changes since McCleary for the Evergreen School District: Notice that they all are ahead of inflation by a wide margin? Have your earnings stayed ahead of inflation? … [Read more...]
Evergreen School District – Won’t take NO for an answer
The Evergreen school district went to the voters in February asking for a new Operations Levy to supplement the state money. It failed. But the district and school board don't agree with a NO vote so they come back again just 2 months later. Today we bring you an opinion piece by a local resident who thinks that NO means NO. The Evergreen School District is attempting another voter approved levy just 2 months after 57.2% of the voters rejected their last levy February 8th (by over 3,600 votes). They say it is not an increase and although the levy rate is the same as the current levy, that is disingenious thanks to the ever increasing property values (11% average increase this year) … [Read more...]
Evergreen School District Levy – February 2022
Voters are being asked to approve or deny the latest Evergreen levy. The following comes from a local resident who believes the vote should be "NO". Give it a read and see what you think: Opposed Statement to the Evergreen School District Levy: Per OSPI’s website, less than half of ESD (Evergreen School District) students met standards for English 49.7%, Math 39.3%, and Science 40.6% (10% below Washington’s state averages). Until focusing on academics, no more money is warranted as $15K per child is already State/Federally funded. This resolution increases the current levy from$1.72 to $2.12 (23% over 2 years). You’re ESD Superintendent and his $305K salary was terminated … [Read more...]
Southwest Washington School Board Races – November 2021
On November 2nd you will elect school board members across Southwest Washington State. These are four (4) year positions so the choices you make will have impact for years. There are a number of issues up for consideration during this election cycle. Where do the candidates stand on CRT? Common Core? CSE? Masks? Vaccination of children? Funding? These races are all non-partisan so political parties are not intended to be part of the discussion. However, there are some philosophical differences. Namely, are the candidates positions more liberal or conservative? Do they believe in the Feds/State telling parents what to do and how to do it or are they for local control and parental … [Read more...]
ESSER Fund (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) Southwest Washington
Ok...this has been a long time coming and has been a challenge to assemble. We hope it's helpful. What is the ESSER money? It's a "slush" fund for districts to use. They received all the regular state and levy money PLUS this extra. Yes there are guidelines but it's a BIG 1 time bucket of money that will be used. Read the documentation for your school district then contact your Superintendent and School Board Directors and ask questions. Get details and see what you think. Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Elementary and Secondary … [Read more...]
Evergreen School District Board of Director Candidates 2021
In November 2021 there are two (2) school board director positions open in the Evergreen School District. Position 1 and Position 5. Today we bring you information on the candidates for those races that may be helpful as you decide who to vote for. In the case of Position 1 there are three (3) candidates who will participate in the August "Primary". The two top vote getters will move to the November election. Please take the time to look into the candidates. Position 5 only has 2 people running so they'll both move on to November. We sent a list of ten (10) questions to each candidate with a return due date specified. Some candidates responded while others didn't. If we received a … [Read more...]
Teachers crossing the line: Evergreen Middle School
When teachers stray from educating to pushing their personal views and agenda the consequences can impact the lives and feelings of impressionable students. Today we bring you an example of a teacher who some think crossed the line. You be the judge: If you think what happened needs to be addressed consider reaching out to the Evergreen Superintendent (Mike Merlino) We bring you the perspectives of the student involved and of the parents. We’re removed the names of the student, parent and teacher as well as the specific school. Student: On Monday June 14th I went to my 1st period class. We had no specific assignment but were sitting around talking. At the end of the class the … [Read more...]