Dick Rylander provides an analysis of the Battle Ground School District’s November 2026 EP&O Levy Dick Rylander for Clark County Today This article is my analysis based on my research and interpretations. It contains a significant amount of detail and numbers. As such, if you need clarifications please reach out to someone whose opinion you trust and ask for their assistance. Every attempt has been made to be accurate and, in the case of projections or estimates, to incorporate information gleaned from conversations. If there are factual errors please notify me. On Thursday July 16, 2026 the BGSD Superintendent (Shelly Whitten) presented a levy proposal to the School Board … [Read more...]
School boards should focus budget deliberations on student outcomes, financial sustainability
The Brookings Institute brings us this primer on school boards and budgets. It's long so you will need to give yourself about 10 minutes to read. The information and questions are relevant and important. As school districts enter one of their most challenging budget cycles in recent memory, all eyes should be on school boards. That’s because the nation’s roughly 13,000 local school boards are the ones who generally own the fiduciary responsibility for spending $700 billion in K-12 public education funds. They’re the ones who sign their names to decisions about what to prioritize when funds are tight, and ultimately where to cut and what to spare. Yet, findings from our research … [Read more...]
Basic education in Washington state: A primer
In this first installment of a two-part series, Dick Rylander and Larry Rose provide a basic background of information from the State Constitution and legislative actions Dick Rylander & Larry Roe for Clark County Today The detailed information is shared from online sources. Original article link: Opinion: Part 1 – Basic education in Washington state; A primer - ClarkCountyToday.com This is a two-part article. In this first installment we provide basic background information from the State Constitution and legislative actions. We all know that our state has committed to providing an education to all K-12 students. We are also funding part of our local school … [Read more...]
Opinion: The people behind the numbers in the Hockinson School Bond
This article was published in ClarkCountyToday.com on Jan 21, 2025 Area resident Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun offers her insight and perspective on the Hockinson School Bond Carolyn Schultz-Rathbun for Clark County Today At first glance, the Hockinson school bond measure looks like every school bond conversation everywhere. Parents and administrators enthuse over things the new bond would provide: a second elementary school, safety improvements at existing schools, a high school career and technical building, a covered outdoor area at the middle school, improved traffic flow at the current elementary school, a new high school track, and artificial turf on the high school … [Read more...]
Inside America’s Education Revolution
From the Free Press. It's a 2 minute read. Many of the greatest American success stories started in a public school classroom. Presidents like Harry Truman, LBJ, and Ronald Reagan. Legal giants like Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, and Steve Jobs. But is our school system the great engine of meritocracy it once was? Consider the following: Two-thirds of fourth and eighth graders aren’t proficient in reading, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a.k.a. “The Nation’s Report Card.” Absenteeism nearly doubled between 2019 and 2023. Between 2018 and 2023, … [Read more...]
How $20 million becomes $90 million in 14 years at Ridgefield School District
This article was published at Clark County Today on April 1, 2024. No it's not April Fools...walk through the numbers for yourself. The Ridgefield School District budgeted a roughly $3 million loss for 2023-2024 and is projecting a roughly $1.3 million loss now. Ridgefield resident Heidi Pozzo doesn’t believe it is due to a lack of funding. Heidi Pozzo for Clark County Today By now you’ve probably seen the news from Clark County Today that school districts are struggling with budgets. Those struggles aren’t confined to larger school districts, virtually every school district in the area is working on budget shortfalls. Heidi Pozzo Will Ridgefield School District suffer … [Read more...]
Letter to the Editor: Ridgefield district may be asking for too much
This article was published in The Reflector Editor, Warning signs come in a variety of places, and there’s one at the state level that is flashing right now. Why are state matching funds so low compared with the size of the facilities being built at Ridgefield School District in the 2024 proposed bond? The 2017 bond anticipated $15.5 million in state-matching funds against $98.5 million in anticipated cost. Ultimately, $28.5 million was received: $18.8 million for the 5-8 school and $6.7 million for the high school. Those extra funds were spent in a variety of ways that brought the total spending to about $107.5 million, after reimbursement from the City for portions of the RACC … [Read more...]
Opinion: Did you get what you paid for in the 2017 Ridgefield School Bond?
This article was written by Heidi Pozzo and published in Clark County Today. Here's the link to the original: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-did-you-get-what-you-paid-for-in-the-2017-ridgefield-school-bond/ Ridgefield resident Heidi Pozzo provides her analysis to this important question Heidi Pozzo for Clark County Today Did you get what you paid for in the 2017 Ridgefield School District Bond? The short answer is no. It did not do what it promised in terms of cost and capacity. The whole point of building new schools and additions is to add capacity. So, hitting the increased capacity goal is the most important outcome. And it didn’t happen. Will this … [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...]
How Broke Did Union Bargaining Make Your District?
Locally you may have seen the announcement by the Vancouver School District that they are projecting an $11.4 million deficit this school year (18/19). This is heavily impacted by the recent teachers contract. At the same time the Van SD is still negotiating with the other union for increases which may further increase the deficit. Most school districts in Southwest Washington are anticipating running deficits within the next 2 years. How will/can they deal with the shortfalls? Increased taxes or reduced spending. On the tax front the State Superintendent is asking the legislature to increase the $1.50/$1000 levy cap to ~$2.31/$1000. He is also asking for a $1 billion capital gains tax … [Read more...]