Guest Opinion | Our 10th Graders lay out why you should support upcoming levy

||| FROM CONCERNED 10TH GRADERS (SEE BELOW) |||

Dear Orcas Islanders,
One day, we will be the citizens who help plan our community’s growth, manage our non-profits and businesses, run the farms, serve you when you are dining out, and be responsible for sustaining the future and the beauty of our island.

That is why we, a group of 10th graders, are asking you to vote YES on the upcoming TECHNOLOGY CAPITAL PROJECTS LEVY. It will be used to fund technology that helps us keep up to date with the world around us, trains our teachers, and keeps us safe when it comes to things like online safety, data protection, and digital door locks.

The COVID pandemic and our necessary remote learning showed us that all schools are vulnerable and lacking when it comes to technology in these cases. For many students, this added an additional challenge to an already difficult year. In order for us to learn and perform better, we will need to invest in these tools. Unfortunately, Washington state underfunds our schools, and we have gratefully depended on non-profits like OICF, OIEF, A-OK, MAG, and generous private donors to ensure our schools have the necessary tools.

If this levy is approved, here is what would happen:

1. We will celebrate!
2. Only taxable property would be taxed to pay for improvements over the next six years. The estimated rates of this levy would be 17 cents to 19 cents per year over the next six years for every thousand dollars of assessed property value.
3. Our schools would be equipped with safer, more efficient, modern technology.

We hope you can be there for us and the future of the island.

With Gratitude,

Tommy Anderson-Cleveland
Ryan Derr
Justin Derr
Isabella Evans
Mona Evans
Coral Forbes
Gray C. Gailey
Finn Rubottom
Eava Wood
Paxton White
Nisha Woolworth