Apples get mixed with oranges in argument against Island Rec levy | Letters
Published 2:32 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2015
With all due respect, I would like to respond to several points made by Mr. Finney on April 22, (“Island Rec levy? Too big of a bite,” guest column, pg. 7; posted online April 19).
He seems to be talking about the Parks and Rec Levy, but to me he mostly seems to be saying that taxes are the sign of a “Nanny State” and local, private groups or individuals should pay for programs that the people deem are necessary or benefit the community, not the government.
In the course of his article he seems to indicate a belief that the local high school is remiss in it’s duties of funding sports and that: “every other high school in Washington state” does a much better job. How he knows this, he does not say.
He also seems to be oblivious of all the many fundraising activities local students are already involved in.
It is not the high school but our state legislature that is not doing it’s job in this instance, and that is the ruling of the state Supreme Court, not just my opinion.
I am a retired teacher with almost 25 years experience and my wife has more years in, and yet is still working here in the middle and high school. I think that due to my experience I can get the feel of a school without an in-depth study and in my opinion this school is as good as any, and better than most I have had experience with.
Administration, faculty and staff that I have come in contact with are uniformly committed, competent, hard-working people. They are struggling, though, to provide a solid program with an ever diminishing budget. We have been here since 2010 and every year it seems the budget is cut by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We are in a difficult position because we, as an island, have an aging demographic and it is expensive to buy and live here, causing a steady drop of school-age children, which impacts how much money the district receives. However, the school would be in much better shape if the legislature would do it’s job and raise more money for education in Washington state.
The high school is not spending the sports money on fancy staff lounges or other frills. They don’t have the money to spend. Should they cut mathematics or history classes?
More money from the legislature would first of all mean smaller class sizes and an even broader range of course offerings. This lack of will by the legislature to raise the money is hurting us, that is, our children, in very real ways.
Having Parks and Rec run the sports program in an efficient manner is worth the extra $70 a year that the editorial states the levy will cost.
I have already voted “Yes” and I urge you all to as well. After that, please contact all the people you know in other voting districts to tell their legislatures to get off their, well… to get to work and fund education properly.
Chris Wilson/San Juan Island
