Support Northshore Schools Levy and Bond Election

By way of full disclosure, I am a retired teacher who taught in Northshore for 37 years.  During that time, while attending summer classes at UW and Western, I learned that Northshore was (and is) much better run than many other districts in the Puget Sound area.  On that basis alone, I would think it appropriate to support the levies and bond.

Throughout all that time, I think it would be accurate to state that Northshore was rarely at the “cutting edge” of anything, preferring instead to focus on tried and proven methods and techniques.  You’ll not find these folks wasting your tax dollars of fads or unproven educational schemes.

I clearly remember two things that illustrate the careful and considerate management of the district’s tax revenues.  One was the roll back of $770,000 dollars in authorized tax collections the district said it did not need.  They took this action two days after signing a union contract, which suggests the union did not have unreasonable influence on the district.  The other is the incredibly foresighted action that allowed NSSD students to benefit from the use of audio/visual aids, even though the Intermediate School District (now known as Educational Service Districts) was terminating its audio/visual services.  NSSD bought up a substantial portion of the ISD’s audio/visual library and became the only Puget Sound school district with its own Audio/Visuals Dept.  Because of this foresight, NSSD kids had access to supportive and reinforcing audio/visual aids not available to students of other school districts.

Until the Legislature responds appropriately to the WA State Supreme Court’s McCleary Decision and fully funds basic education, some of those costs will have to come from local levies.  We’ll save that discussion for another day.