As a parent with a child in the district and a community member, I urge you to vote “Yes” on the replacement levies.

I understand the frustration with district leadership and I’ve felt it myself. But these levies aren’t about leadership decisions. A “no” vote won’t “teach the district a lesson” or change how administrators spend money. What it will do is hurt our district badly. Our teachers and children will pay the price through bigger class sizes and cut programs.

We don’t need to guess about what happens. We can look at a nearby district. When Yelm School District’s EP&O levy failed, they had to cut over 90 staff members, reduce sports programs, stop buses for athletics, and raise student fees. Even after these big cuts, they are still over budget. Now Yelm Community Schools might close completely, or have even more programs and staff being cut.

We hear “16% of the budget” and it sounds so abstract and like we can skim off excess. This budget impacts real students through bigger class sizes and lost opportunities, good teachers and staff losing jobs, and losing programs that help kids succeed.

Washington’s school funding system is broken. In theory, state funding should be enough, but it’s not. It is based on the “prototypical school funding model,” and it just doesn’t work for all schools. It doesn’t consider a larger, more rural district, aging buildings, sports, or other programs that we may consider essential. Our kids shouldn’t be punished for this problem.

Instead of voting down levies, we need to tell our state legislators to fix the funding and, in the meantime, support our schools.

These levy funds stay right here in our community, directly supporting our teachers, programs, and students. These taxes are not new and they are not an increase. This is our chance to invest in our children’s education and our community’s future.

Please vote Yes on Props. 1 and 2.

Gwen Reed

Black Diamond