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LETTERS ABOUT 2004 ELECTION |
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Vote No on Referendum 55To The Editor, posted 10/28/04
Voters of Washington State have already defeated charter school initiatives twice, and with good reason. Nevertheless, the State Legislature has voted to allow for charter schools, and now, as required by the State judicial system, voters are being asked to reject or approve this legislative action. In fact, charter schools have the potential to undermine public education. Supporters of charter schools claim that educational choice and exemption from onerous State and Federal regulations will lead to educational innovation and better meet student needs. However, if indeed these regulations are onerous and unnecessary, it would be better to enact legislation that removes these regulations from all public education providers. Furthermore, the charter school measure, as proposed, would require that locally elected school boards review all applications for charter schools with no funding provided for these reviews (which in addition to school board time and attention would necessitate costly legal reviews), while allowing for the subsequent school board decisions regarding charter school applications to be overruled by State authorities. Charter schools are an unnecessary diversion of money, time, and effort from really improving public education in our state. Please join me in voting to reject Referendum 55 on November 2nd. Boyd C. Pratt Support for I 884Dear Editor, posted 10/26/04
We disagree on the impact of I-884, though, and here's why: 1. I-884 will no more devastate the state economy than does the existing sales tax. Consumers who are so inclined can already flock to Oregon, which has no sales tax (but a significant income tax) or to Canada (which has combined sales taxes nearly double that of Washington’s). The internet is, and will continue to be, available to online shoppers. Nor will a sales tax increase make Washington’s taxes among the highest in the country. Our sales tax is high because we have no state income tax. At the increased rate, a Washington family with $40,000 in taxable income would have to buy $37,560 worth of taxable goods and services to pay sales tax equal to Oregon’s income tax for the same family ($3,249). Minnie’s concerns about high sales taxes are an argument for tax reform (about which we may agree), but not an argument against funding for education. 2. We all want accountability for our tax dollars and we’ve got it in education. In fact, many of us in education are spending so much time and money assessing and reporting on our programs that our teachers are struggling to educate the students in their classrooms. Case in point: The San Juan Center currently has funding for one teacher at 5 hours a week to teach English as a second language to 40 students of varying levels from beginner through advanced. It takes two additional part time employees to keep up with the testing and reporting required of this program. Why two employees instead of one? Because we do not have the funding to pay benefits to one employee working more hours. This testing and reporting requires skill and dedication. The person coordinating the program for us just gave her notice. Why? Because she can make double the money cleaning island houses. Colleen Clancy Dear Editor, posted 10/24/04
Washington State used to fund public education from a combination of property taxes and local school levies as we do now, but also had a large fund of dollars from state timber sales. As the timber industry dwindled, that source of funding disappeared and there has been no method devised to replace it at a state level. Washington State per student expenditure for education, which has ranked low in the nation historically, is now even worse. Since our state does not utilize an income tax, we rely on the more regressive and inequitable taxation of sales and user fees. The high cost of ferry transportation for ferry users despite this being public transportation is an example to which we can clearly relate. Let's examine what is happening now with this method being applied to public education. We are seeing a move to shift the responsibility of educating the youth of our society to those that have the children. Thus if one never has children or children are grown up, then the notion is that we have no interdependence on the generations to come and thus no responsibility to invest in their future. This idea appeals to those who think that everything they have is because of their individual effort. Yet this is a delusion since we participates in government sponsored activities every day, like federally insured bank investments, drive public highways, visit national park, use airports, eat USDA inspected safe foods, collect social security, utilize Medicare, vote... Our schools are given the tremendous assignment to educate our youth to become productive citizens, the backbone of our communities. Educated, articulate, working adults contribute to society with their talents and taxes, leadership and vision. Our local school district has to meet this need today, providing more than the 3 basic Rs of reading, writing and 'rithmetic. Add to that: mandated recurrent proficiency testing, computer literacy, English as a second language, complex higher math and science... in order to not only survive but compete in our increasingly technological world and global economy. How will we as a society obtain the "end product" of educated, articulate, productive working adults if we don't invest in the process? It doesn't just happen on its own. Initiative 884 would increase the state sales tax by 1 percent for a specific education fund. Although not a most equitable tax method, I-884 does take a giant step beyond "user fees for parents" to share responsibility in educating our youth. They are the up and coming backbone of tomorrow's society and workforce, upon whom we, and our nation depend. Susan Hill VOTE NO ON I-884Support for Initiative 884Dear Editor: posted 10/22/04
If I-884 passes, it could devastate the state economy. This exorbitant sales tax will increase current sales taxes by 15%. If I-884 passes, our state would have the highest sales tax in the country. Consumers will flock to Oregon, Canada, and the Internet to buy big-ticket items like cars, appliances, etc. In the long run Washington could lose as many as 10,000 jobs due to this unnecessary tax. This sales tax will hurt the poor the most. I-884 is just another blank check with no reforms, accountability or prioritization of existing dollars. The sad truth is that there is no way to guarantee more will be spent on education even if I-884 passes. The legislature can amend any initiative at any time. It is unconstitutional to bind them to future spending. So in other words, the legislature could take the I-884 money and put it into the general fund to pay for politician’s pet projects rather than education. We all want our children to get a quality education, but the first step to that is holding schools, teachers, and students accountable. Don’t let the politicians hold our children hostage demanding a tax ransom for a quality education. Vote NO on I-884. Minnie Knych Support for Initiative 884Dear Editor: posted 10/21/04
Our state community college funding, long regarded as inadequate, has remained flat or decreased over the past 4 years, even while students are flooding into state schools to obtain academic and technical degrees. Class size is increasing, training opportunities in fields such as nursing are in short supply and the strain on the personnel within the system is affecting our ability to attract and keep qualified employees. Community college employees have not received a cost of living increase in three years. Locally, we are beginning to lose valuable part time employees at the San Juan Center because they can no longer afford to work at wages as low as $7.59 per hour. Work load has increased as positions are vacated and not refilled. Many of our residents have noticed program cuts in our local offerings as we have moved funds to more critical programs. Our fastest growing programs at the Center are those providing basic skills to islanders--GED preparation, math, reading and writing skills, and English as a Second Language. Education for these segments of our population is vital to the continued economic wellbeing of our island families. Please vote yes on Initiative 884. A vote for this initiative is a vote for families and an investment in our local economy.
Colleen Clancy |
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