Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Roosevelt Elementary School teachers Lois Ware (left) and Kay O'Sullivan stand in the rain to support their school and encourage voters to pass the upcoming levy. No organized opposition to the levy exists.

Madison Elementary School teachers have a meeting to check in and discuss progress since participating in a workshop that helped implement the Step Up to Writing program at the school. Staff development in Olympia schools is primarily funded by levies.

Pioneer Intermediate- Middle School music teacher Susan Casey stands next to added security that is a result of break-ins to her music room. Added security is part of making do with an older school, said Casey, whose classroom is in a section of what had been the school gym.

Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Students at Pioneer Intermediate-Middle School gather for lunch in their cafeteria. The school eliminated classroom space to make room for the cafeteria.

Educating voters, kids

Awareness brings wins at ballot box, backers say

ALMA D. SHARPE, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Paying for teacher training, textbooks, classroom materials and programs for students with special needs might seem like the primary duty of state government.

But for decades the existence of many such programs in Washington state has depended on the will of voters in local school districts.

An average of 20 percent of a Washington school district's budget comes from local levies, though the law allows some to levy as much as 24 percent of their budgets.

The first election of 2002 will determine the future of many programs in 14 school districts in Thurston and Mason counties. On Feb. 5, voters in those districts will decide whether to continue maintenance and operations levies for their districts.

At the same time, three districts -- Pioneer, Yelm and Griffin -- will ask voters to support construction bonds.

For these districts, the task becomes one of basic voter education from now -- when many voters already have absentee ballots in hand -- until the election. That education includes drawing distinctions between levies and bonds, and explaining what each will pay for.

"We tell people the bond builds the building, the levy keeps the doors open," said Carol Tillman, chairwoman of the Rochester Levy Committee.

Awareness leads to support, some say

Keeping the doors open means garnering the required 60 percent voter approval to pass school measures.

Historically, some districts across the state have struggled with that, at least the first time around.

Levies sometimes are voted down in February, only to be approved later in the spring. (Districts can put the same measure before voters only twice in a calendar year.) By the time of the second vote, however, educators are developing lists of possible cuts.

"It's lack of awareness and complacency," Yelm Superintendent Alan Burke said of the pattern. "They sometimes don't understand the importance of voting until they realize the cuts are coming."

It's rare, though not unprecedented, for levies to fail.

The North Thurston School District failed to pass a levy in 1995, as did the Pioneer School District in 1993. In the case of North Thurston, administrators cut the district budget by the amount of the levy -- $11 million -- over two years.

Districts such as Rochester and Yelm, which have historically struggled to pass bonds, say they see new hope ahead in the fact that young families are moving into the area.

"They have school-aged children, and they understand; they're more willing to pay taxes when their children are in the building," Tillman said.

But because young families also tend to lead busy lives devoid of political involvement, they also have become the targets of the committees pushing for the passage of levies and bonds.

"Part of our challenge is to get our younger adults to understand that their (voting) does affect the quality of life around here," Burke said.

School officials understand that the growth that brings young families into the district also brings higher enrollments, making levy money all the more important. A new housing development near Yelm resulted in 22 new students after winter break, Burke said.

Yelm school administrators also are counting on the growing frustration with traffic congestion to spur voters into approving a bond to build a new junior high school that should divert traffic away from the center of town.

There is no organized opposition to any of the local levy campaigns, but often the opposition comes from individual taxpayers who are dissatisfied with the schools or who just want to lower their taxes.

And then there are those who oppose the idea of school levies and the way they are used.

Marda Kirkwood, chairwoman of the statewide group Citizens United for Responsible Education, said levies give school districts too much discretion over their use of the funds, making it hard to ensure that the money is spent wisely.

Kirkwood argues that levies often pass because school supporters conduct aggressive campaigns.

"They energize their faithful," Kirkwood said. "When they lose for the first time, they pull out the big guns."

She said that if school levies were timed differently, as part of the September primary and November general elections when the turnout tends to be higher, they wouldn't be as successful.

"You'd have a much broader range of people looking at them," she said. "It would also be a better use of public funds."

Dependent programs

The levy money districts want voters to keep sending often is used for intangible things.

Olympia school officials say the money raised by its maintenance and operations levy gives the district an edge when it comes to hiring teachers. Seventy-five percent of the cost of providing teachers with 11 optional working days -- which are used for training and other work outside the classroom -- comes from levy funds.

Most districts offer teachers six or seven days. Olympia officials say the difference has helped the district recruit and retain teachers, even during a recent shortage of educators across the state.

Karen Gray, principal at Madison Elementary, said the training is directly linked to how teachers do their job.

Kindergarten and first-grade teachers recently attended training, and consultants have worked with all Olympia elementary school teachers on new techniques for teaching writing, a skill that has become more critical under the state's education reform efforts.

"Teachers are very excited about the new strategies they're using in teaching writing -- I have seen it in every classroom," Gray said. "The content in students' writing is much improved."

Cathy Williams, campaign manager for the Olympia Citizens for Schools committee, said the district's voters have rarely rejected school measures. She doesn't expect that to change in this election, particularly because parents have seen positive changes in the schools, she said.

New Superintendent Bill Lahmann has been well received, Williams said, and he's worked to connect with parents of the former John Rogers Elementary School, which the Olympia school board voted to close in a controversial move last year.

"I hear very positive things throughout the district, but we never take it for granted that people will vote yes," Williams said.

Buses, counselors are not extras

Rochester Superintendent Jim Anderson said he's made a point of telling people that his district's levy is essential for busing children to and from school.

In a rural district, that's no small thing.

"The levy pays for 20 percent of our transportation costs," he said.

It also pays for additional teachers and part of the program for gifted and talented students -- additions that should not be considered extras, he said.

"We think we need a counselor in every building -- that's what the levy pays for," he said. "The state doesn't feel that way."

In Shelton, where voters last year approved a construction bond, many are asking why another school measure is on the ballot this year.

While the $31 million bond will replace or rebuild nearly every school in the district, the maintenance and operations levy will fund extra teachers, music specialists, most of the cost of technology, curriculum materials, after-school sports and other activities, as well as transportation costs.

Superintendent Joan Zook said voters don't always realize that levies represent "replacement" taxes, not new taxes; are up for renewal every two years; and simply maintain what the district already offers.

"It's an ongoing challenge," she said. "The people that we've reached have a good idea now. But I'm not confident that the public at large does understand this, especially if they haven't read the materials that are out there or attended a presentation."

Patti Case, chairwoman of Citizens for Shelton Schools, hopes some changes in the school district have made voters feel better about local schools.

The recent development of the district's strategic plan involved more than 100 residents who helped determine the district's priorities. At the same time, local business leaders, especially members of the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, have endorsed the levy, Case said.

"I really don't know very many people who don't want to help the schools," Case said.

Alma D. Sharpe covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754- 4226.

Polls and absentee ballots

Absentee ballots have gone out to residents in Thurston and Mason counties. If you haven't received one and think you should have, call your county elections division. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 5, election day, to be counted in the election.

On election day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Call the Mason County Elections Department at 360-427-9670, Ext. 470. The Thurston County Elections Department can be reached at 360-786-5408.

On the Web:

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: District Websites

- On the ballot: Find out the specifics of every school levy and bond on the Feb. 5 ballot across South Sound.

- Bonds: Three school districts in South Sound put bond measures before voters.

- Voting: Whom to call for information on where to vote, and what to do if you haven't received an absentee ballot and think you should have.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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