From the ClarkCountyToday.com site We need to be having an active and urgent discussion of the goals of our public schools in light of the affordability of our neighborhoods for families with school-age children, the decreasing academic performance of our students, and the increased absenteeism in our schools. Our K-12 public schools have been taking on many roles in addition to the basic academic and athletic training for students that was envisioned in our State Constitution. We have added meals for students, preparation of young children for kindergarten, extended education for students with special needs for an additional four years, resource centers to support young families … [Read more...]
2025 School Levy Pass/Fail Report
Here is data straight from OSPI on how many levy's went to voters and the outcomes. Take a look at the spreadsheet for details. Following came from a Facebook Group. Let’s talk about the failed levies (Capital, Enrichment, Transportation) across the state as more Washington taxpayers are saying “No” to unlimited amounts of taxation in the first part of 2025 according to OSPI’s website not just Yelm taxpayers. >>Side Note: this doesn’t take into account students who are home schooled, attending private school, or attending other learning methods that aren’t publicly subsidized. Looking over the numbers- * 79 requests for some type of levy in Washington state in … [Read more...]
The Basic Education Bait-and-Switch
I had a chat with the Gemini AI at Google and asked it to go into "Expert Mode" and provide citations for it's findings. Following is that report for your consideration. The opposition narrative regarding school levies in Washington often centers on the tension between Washington state’s "Paramount Duty" to fund basic education and the local districts' use of enrichment funds to fill structural gaps. The following narrative outlines the arguments used by fiscal conservatives, taxpayer advocates, and legal critics to suggest that districts are bypassing the spirit—and sometimes the letter—of the law. The core of the opposition argument is that school districts use Enrichment … [Read more...]
School Levy’s – Public Comment
Our articles about school levies sometimes generates comments. Today we share the comments of a person that some may find useful. If you have comments (Pro or Con) about levies we'll add them to this article thread. You can use the comment submission process here or you can email us at swweducation dot gmail dot com. The comments have no reference to to the writer. Comment: Thank you to whomever for compiling this useful information. I am concerned that people don’t have a place to go to get more information before they vote to spent several hundred or thousands of dollars a year on these levy’s. People need to do their own assessment of the cost of these levies. The numbers in the … [Read more...]
Historic change in special elections and levies
The week of April 26th 2021 was historic. It was the last levy that didn’t require a voter pamphlet. Until now school districts (and other entities) could run special elections but were NOT required to provide pro and con statements in writing with the ballot. With this change all special elections will require a written statement on yes and no votes. This change will increase the cost of a special election due to the voter pamphlet requirement. It will also cause election departments to search out people to write the pro and con statements. Until now it’s sometimes been hard to find people to write the No position. Going forward if someone in the local boundaries won’t write the No … [Read more...]
Washington State levy and bond data
If you love data and facts please add this site to your "must have" sites: http://www.schooldataproject.com This website was created by Jeff Heckathorn. Jeff has a passion for data and has been spending huge amounts of time gathering and dissecting data regarding Washington State school levys and bonds. We've been corresponding for months on this and today we bring to you some of the materials he has shared. Feel free to go straight to his site. We will provide updates and articles as we get them. You'll find information about those that passed and those that failed in February 2021 "special elections". This article will be updated as new information becomes available. Here is … [Read more...]
Washington State School Funding data for Green Mountain School District “More money does what?”
There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
After election, state lawmakers move to raise local property taxes
As you consider whether to vote yes on your local levy's and capital bonds coming up in February give this story a read. Promises made may NOT be promises kept. The State wants to keep what they claimed was temporary while you local school district wants more money. Where does it end? This article comes from the Washington Policy Center. The author is Liv Finne With the 2016 election over, some state lawmakers are considering a bill to break a commitment they made to the public six years ago not to raise local property taxes. The lawmakers want to cancel a promised return to lower tax rates planned for January 1, 2018. In 2010 lawmakers passed temporary legislation, SHB … [Read more...]