Renew school levies, for return on investment | Letters

This week, registered voters within the Snoqualmie Valley School District will be receiving their ballots for the February 11 all mail-in election. There are two four-year replacement levies on our ballots. The Education Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy, formerly called Maintenance & Operations (M&O), provides for nearly one-quarter of the costs of our district’s day-to-day operations, programs, and personnel needed to serve the basic education needs of our students.

January 23, 2014 7:46 pm

This week, registered voters within the Snoqualmie Valley School District will be receiving their ballots for the February 11 all mail-in election. There are two four-year replacement levies on our ballots. The Education Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy, formerly called Maintenance & Operations (M&O), provides for nearly one-quarter of the costs of our district’s day-to-day operations, programs, and personnel needed to serve the basic education needs of our students. The Technology Levy provides funds for all technology equipment, service support, and training, because our state does not include technology in its definition of “basic education”.

I encourage you to vote “yes” on both of these levies for the following reasons:

• These are replacement four-year levies. In 2010, we voters approved the current levies which will expire in 2014. These replacement EP&O and Tech levies will run from 2015 to 2018.

• Our property values are directly connected to the success of our local schools. Quality schools positively influence the property values of our community.

• Our community is receiving an incredible return on its investment with these levies. First, 100 percent of these levies stay local. Second, of the 19 school districts in King County, the Snoqualmie Valley ranks near the top in terms of school test scores, but near the bottom in terms of school tax rates.

• Our students and teachers rely on the passage of these levies. One out of every four dollars in our district is provided by local levies. Without funds from local levies, the impacts to our community’s children would be catastrophic.

Last week, we received in the mail the district’s winter edition newsletter. Detailed information about the replacement EP&O and tech levies is included in it. More importantly, this newsletter highlights a few of the accomplishments recently achieved by our students. It is clear to me that fantastic work is being done by our students, teachers, and staff of the Snoqualmie Valley School District. To help our students continue to excel in the classroom, the Snoqualmie Valley School District needs the support of our community to approve the two replacement levies in this election. Please vote “yes” on both Proposition 1 (EP&O Levy) and Proposition 2 (Technology Levy).

Kirk Harris, Chair, Snoqualmie Valley Citizens for Schools, Fall City