Vote yes to renew levy | Letter
Published 1:30 am Monday, January 5, 2026
On Feb. 10, 2026, voters in the San Juan Island School District will be asked to renew the four-year Educational Programs and Operations Levy. The San Juan Public Schools Foundation strongly encourages our community to vote YES.
This levy is not a new tax. It is a renewal of existing funding, and the amount requested will not exceed what voters approved in 2022. While the State of Washington provides basic education funding, those funds do not cover the full cost of running our schools or maintaining the programs our students depend on. The EP&O Levy fills that gap, accounting for approximately 17.25% of the district’s $17.5 million annual budget.
Local levy dollars support the heart of our schools. They help maintain small class sizes so teachers can give students the attention they deserve. They fund essential staff, including school counselors and the school nurse, who support student well-being. Levy funding sustains critical programs such as music, drama, art, STEM, and Advanced Placement courses that prepare students for future success.
The levy also pays for extra academic support, including summer school, after-school programs, and special education services. It helps keep our schools safe, clean, and welcoming by covering custodial and maintenance costs. In addition, it supports healthy meals, English Language Learner services, and alternative learning options.
Without renewal of this levy, the district would face cuts of more than $3 million, directly impacting students and staff.
Our schools are a shared community investment. On Feb. 10, please vote YES for our schools and our future.
Sincerely,
San Juan Public Schools Foundation
Ashley Bashaw, Floyd Bourne, Stephanie Buffum, Katie Fleming, Melanie Hess, Katy Taylor Jacobson, Darla Jungmeyer, Jennifer Krembs, Brian Moore, Anna Spears, Anna Strickland, and Rick Winings
Our very generous community sent 141 filled shoeboxes to Operation Christmas Child for worldwide distribution.
This year, several eager high school students were introduced to the process. They assembled pre-printed boxes, organized and filled them, plus wrote personal heart-warming notes for 28 of the boxes. They helped send the message of Christian hope where sometimes there is little. The students were a welcome, and hopefully permanent, addition to our project.
We are continually grateful to Theresa Chevalier and her staff at Kings Marine for saving shoeboxes throughout the year. The Presbyterian Church hosts and assembles the larger over overpacked cartons, and the Mary Martha Circle ladies sponsor and help accumulate items included in the boxes. We are so grateful for their commitment. Our faithful Friday Harbor Freight continues to transport everything to His Place in Burlington, where they are forwarded to a clearance center and on to their final destination.
Simple gifts like stuffed animals, toothbrushes, crayons, felt pens, pencils, stickers Play Play-Doh, t-shirts, fuzzy socks and toys brighten lives for children who have so little. We say Thank You to all who bring Christmas to children in another part of our world. Our boxes are part of over 200 million sent since the project began in 1993.
Merry Christmas!
Mayr Ray and Ann Wiese,
San Juan Island
