— from Orcas Island School Board —
The August 4 Election Day is just a few days away. On the ballot will be the replacement EP&O levy for the Orcas Island School District. The current levy is set to expire at the end of December. The replacement levy has a fixed tax rate of $0.87 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which is lower than the current levy.
State and federal education funds pay for about 80% of our school district budget. The purpose of the Education Programs and Operations Levy is to close the gap between what the state pays for, and the full operational cost of our schools. The local EP&O levy provides almost 20% of the funds for everything that our school district does. It pays for teachers and staff; basic and special education programs; athletic, music, technology and extracurricular programs; and maintenance.
In the Orcas Island School District, our mission is to provide top-quality education to prepare students for college, careers, and life. Our hard-working staff and educators remain dedicated to serving the young people of our community.
The Orcas Island School Board hopes that everyone votes in this election. Please vote!
John Fleming
Linda Sheridan
Greg White
Ayn Carrillo Gailey
Bridget Broderick
I would like the Superintendent and school board to explain the need for this levy if there will be no face-to-face learning in September. Orcas voters have been generous towards our school in the past and I expect will continue to put our children first. Our leaders at the school couldn’t have foreseen that the recent millions invested on the school campus would not be available for our kids. People will feel better approving the levy if they understand the financial needs of the school when there are no kids on campus. I want to vote YES so please convince me.
Would someone explain why the state pays only 80% since the court decision in McCleary went into effect? I thought that our taxes were raised considerably recently to help the state pay ALL districts the full cost of educating our children. I also thought that the idea was that districts in wealthy areas should not be spending more?
Our goal is to offer authentic learning opportunities while placing the health and safety of our students, their families, OISD staff, and our greater Orcas Island community first. This goal led to the formation of the OISD Safe Return to School Steering Committee.
Work groups of parents, staff, and community members came together at the request of the steering committee to brainstorm and research instructional models and schedules with an emphasis on elementary children participating in in-person instruction on campus. Draft models and schedules have been compiled and will be presented to the OISD Safe Return to School Steering Committee this Friday, July 17. Plans will be released to the public next week, once approved.
Parents of elementary students will have scheduling formats from which to choose based on their unique needs. Older students will participate in a hybrid model consisting of a combination of in-person and online instruction.
No question. You have my vote. We need to care for and nurture our next generation of leaders. Respect to you all for your stewardship.
In response to Peg Manning’s question about education funding from the State: Prior to the McCleary case, the State was providing considerably less than 80% of school funding. The State Supreme Court decision forced the Legislature to increase funding to schools. The funding level at which they let the Legislature ‘off the hook’ was still only 80% of what schools know is necessary for ‘basic education’. Local school districts are expected to fill that funding gap. Ironically, the McCleary decision not only didn’t require the Legislature to pay the full cost, it also provided the Legislature with an incentive to limit local levies, so that the State wouldn’t have to provide additional funding to maintain their proportional share. Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions at kwhitaker@orcas.k12.wa.us.
Belated thanks, Keith!