LETTERS ABOUT SAN JUAN ISLAND SCHOOLS

Support for renewing school levy

Dear Editor,

posted 1/30/2006
Please join me and vote "YES" to renew the Orcas School levy. Our teachers and principals have shown that Orcas Island students do great on the WASL and the graduates perform well in college. We have a wonderful small rural school that responds to the needs of our community. The school does many things well including teaching fundamentals of English, math, hard science and social science, vocational education, and alternative programs like OASIS. Way to go to the football team and other sports! Your continued support today will assure the Orcas students develop into strong leaders tomorrow.

Randy Gaylord

Dear Fellow Islanders,

posted 1/18/2006
When we moved here last year, our children were coming from a private school. We were a bit hesitant about "public" education. We have been pleasantly surprised at every turn with the Friday Harbor School District. Our middle child is in the elementary and oldest is in the middle school. Our youngest will be in kindergarten in the fall.

We are extremely happy with the quality and depth of education that they are receiving here. It rivals a private school education in many regards. The "extra-curriculars" are more than fun after school. They are teaching life long love of learning, teamwork, friendship and community involvement. Our children are growing academically, physically, and socially through our involvement in the schools here on San Juan Island.

How we support our children's school teaches them about our values and priorities as a community and as individuals. The health of a school system directly impacts every facet of a community. We have an extremely healthy school system. Let's help to keep it that way.

Your neighbors,

Jim and Cathy Cole and Family

Dear Editor,

posted 1/18/2006
It has been our privilege to be part of the Wolverine football team and the Friday Harbor High School learning community. The support that this community shows to our sports teams and to our schools is wonderful!

We are so proud of the performance of our athletic teams on the fields and courts. We also know that the victories that live over a lifetime are the ones that occur in our classrooms.

This past fall our Boys and Girls soccer teams were each Class A Academic State Champions, and our tennis and volleyball and football teams achieved Distinguished Scholarship awards. It is a tremendous achievement to succeed in both the classroom and in athletics.

Funding from our maintenance and operations levy is crucial to providing these life changing experiences in our classrooms, through our music, drama and arts programs, and through athletics. We urge you to vote "YES" for the renewal of our maintenance and operations levy. Your continuing support makes a difference for each student in our community.

Thank you for your continued support of our school team!

Richard and Jenny Ledford

Dear Editor,

posted 1/18/2006
As recent graduates of Friday Harbor High School we would like to ad our voices to those in support of the renewal of the San Juan Island School District Maintenance and Operations Levy. We are grateful for the education we received from the public schools and hope that current students will also be prepared to take their next steps towards becoming successful community members.

Go Wolverines!

Anna Gordon, Danny Cumming, Shay Hopkins, Fletcher Vynne, Erica Percich, Brady Ryan, Alex Altman, Julie Tate, and Kimberly Kennedy

Dear Editor,

posted 1/18/2006
It is time to renew the Maintenance and Operations Levy for the San Juan Island School District. M&O funds provide approximately 20% of the public schools' annual budget, and they are critical for the continued excellence of our schools.

Our family will reach a milestone this coming June when our youngest son graduates from Friday Harbor High School! Our boys have received a great education in our public schools, and have especially benefited from programs that might not have existed without M&O funds, such as sports, AP classes, and reasonable class sizes.

We are happy to continue our support of the M&O Levy renewals beyond the benefits to our own kids, as we want future generations of Friday Harbor kids to have the same opportunities for a great start in life that our kids have had.

Please join us in voting YES for the upcoming Maintenance & Operations Levy!

Maude and Bill Cumming

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