ANNOUNCEMENT
- an informal, drop-in gathering with City Councilmembers and Lake Washington School District Board Members to discuss topics of importance to attendees
- Councilmember Sayna Parsi, 3/15
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| LWSD Levy Committee campaign sign |
Every four years the Educational and Operations (EP&O) and Capital Technology and Facilities levies are up for renewal. The board took formal action to approve a Lid-lift of these 2026 levies at their meeting on October 6, 2025. These replacement levies will be placed on the February 10, 2026, ballot.
Currently, 16% of the Lake Washington School District budget is funded by these two "replacement" levies. The school board is proposing a special "excess" increase (that will be baked in for years) in the 2026 levy ask owing to:
Hello from Legislative Assembly!
When this newsletter hits your inbox, we will have concluded our time at the Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly. We are pleased to report that we have a large number of LWPTSA members representing their communities at Legislative Assembly this year. Although it can seem like a less than thrilling way to spend a weekend, it is actually a fantastic opportunity to network, to learn more about how to advocate, and to have some fun (ask our DEIB Chair Morgan about winning a raffle). We look forward to sharing a more detailed report with you in next week's newsletter.
This past week the LWPTSA Council hosted a School Board Candidate Forum. Thank you to those who attended and/or submitted questions for our candidates. It was a fantastic evening, and we all thoroughly enjoyed meeting our four candidates and hearing their thoughts and ideas on a variety of key district topics and issues. Please remember to have a plan to vote on or before November 5. Your voice matters! Seriously!
At our Council board meeting last week, we voted as a board to endorse and financially support the local levies. We will now bring that to our Council general membership meeting next month on 11/6 to vote on the endorsement as a general body.
Finally, please take a look at Brooke’s October Safety Spotlight!
Sincerely,This Week
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Every four years the Educational and Operations (EP&O) and Capital Technology and Facilities levies are up for renewal. The board will take formal action on the 2026 levies at their meeting on October 6, 2025. Once approved by the board, these replacement levies would be placed on the February 10, 2026, ballot.
Currently, 16% of the Lake Washington School District budget is funded by these two "replacement" levies. The school board is proposing a special "excess" increase in the 2026 levy ask owing to:
EP&O Levy Program Funding (% of total program funds:)
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| Aspen Richter |
Lake Washington PTSA Council Sustainability Chair, 2023-2025.
While Chair, I focused on bringing both district employees and sustainability chairs from the various school PTSAs together to exchange information and strengthen our sustainability efforts.I also collaborated with Matt Gillingham (Deputy Superintendent of Operations & Legal Affairs) to hold a linkage session for the board's draft sustainability policy with PTSA chairs, parents, students, and teachers. I'm looking forward to what 2025-2026 brings for our environmental efforts in LWSD!I am on the LWSD advisory committees for:1) Sustainability2) Facilities: I joined because of the financial and environmental impact of our buildings, and because I had children at two of the schools slated for rebuild from the proceeds of the 2024 levy.3) Levy: A temporary committee in the spring and summer of 2025, because levies are how we fund facility improvements such as solar panels, switching to electric boilers, and installation of ground-source heat pumps to reduce our environmental impact. The levy committee is one I take very seriously, because the purpose of levy funds---funding our schools---is incredibly important and also because I am aware the end result is very real for property owners in LWSD.
Award reflects District’s goal of fiscal responsibility
Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District’s (LWSD’s) 2024-25 Budget has earned the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) Meritorious Budget Award (MBA). This award promotes and recognizes excellence in budget development, communication, and presentation in school districts. LWSD has received this award eight years in a row. LWSD is the only district in the state of Washington to receive this award.
“The statistics are alarming, but they also highlight the incredible need for a service like Care Solace,” remarked Katy Philips, LWSF Executive Director. “We are grateful for the opportunity to make mental health care more accessible and to work alongside LWSD and the City of Redmond to support our community’s well-being.”
Care Solace connects individuals with a large network of verified mental health providers, addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, substance use, trauma, and more. The service offers 24/7/365 multilingual support in over 200 languages and is available at no cost to all LWSD students, families, and staff, regardless of insurance status.
By offering a centralized hub for connecting individuals to mental health care providers, Care Solace ensures timely, confidential access to services while relieving school staff of the challenging task of referring students to appropriate care. The platform’s database of over 560,000 providers enables efficient connections and ensures that students, especially those from historically underserved communities, receive the right support.
Lake Washington students continue to make gains on state assessments
Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students continue to score well above the state average in all areas tested by the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA).Indigenous Peoples were forcibly removed from ancestral lands, displaced, assimilated, and banned from worshiping or performing many sacred ceremonies. Yet today, they remain some of our greatest environmental stewards. They maintain strong religious beliefs that still feed the soul of our Nation. And they have chosen to serve in the United States Armed Forces at a higher rate than any other group. Native peoples challenge us to confront our past and do better, and their contributions to scholarship, law, the arts, public service, and more continue to guide us forward.
Am I enough to be seen as an indigenous person? Watch a short video HERE of students celebrating "Am I Enough."
Mary Wilber, Program Coordinator of the Eastside Native American Indian Association organizes events for our Salish Sea indigenous youth. She invites indigenous students from three school districts to her Monday evening classes at Lake Washignton High.
Fewer students in elementary leads to an eventual decline in secondary schools.
The School Board is proposing a $676.9 million, 6-year construction levy this year. If passed, 2 elementary schools and 2 middle schools will be rebuilt and enlarged.
"WHY IS ENROLLMENT DECLINING in our schools even with so much construction going on in the district?
ANSWER: "The district is tracking over 9,500 residential units opening within the next 10 years. The majority of the new construction is now multi-family housing (apartments, condominiums, townhomes) rather than single-family. Multi-family housing units do not generate as many students as single family homes do. Multi-family housing generates about seven students for every 100 units vs. a single-family development that generates about 60 students for every 100 homes. This housing growth is certainly offsetting what could be larger enrollment declines. The other reason for the decline is a decline in birth rates. Birth rates are down for Lake Washington area, King County, and across the country. This results in lower kindergarten enrollment and fewer students enrolling at the elementary level. Fewer students in elementary leads to an eventual decline in secondary, even though secondary school enrollment is currently not declining in the same way."
Source: LWSD Demographics, FAQ
Posted by Bob Yoder, 6/3/2024
A Redmond High School counselor was arrested for allegedly having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
Redmond detectives became aware of the relationship between Derik Detweiler, 35, of Kenmore, and the 17-year-old girl after she came forward on May 22 to Lake Washington School District staff. The school placed Detweiler on administrative leave and notified Redmond police.
An immediate and thorough investigation developed sufficient evidence to secure a warrant for his arrest. Redmond detectives tracked Detweiler to Wyoming, and on May 30, local authorities took him into custody without incident. He will remain in custody in Wyoming pending extradition back to Washington.
Dr. Jon Holmen, LWSD Superintendent says...
"Our community has an opportunity to set the stage for future generations, continuing to make Lake Washington a great place to live, raise a family and educate children,” said “Our students deserve educational environments that match the excellence we strive to attain with each of our students.”
Why does the district need a construction levy?
To continue to provide excellence in education for the students of our community, LWSD recommends placing this measure on the ballot. This levy will focus on aging facilities - to rebuild and enlarge the four remaining schools that have not received upgrades or rebuilds since the start of the 1998 modernization program. This levy would allow the district to ensure secure facilities with single entry points, interior hallways, and other features to ensure students continue to learn in a safe environment.
Levy will focus on replacing four aging schools and upgrading/modernizing the fieldhouse and community pool at Juanita High School.
The City of Redmond's lack of good information on Silver Cloud-Redmond homeless housing and Plymouth Housing prompted this post.
Open Government: The Peoples Right To Know
Redmond has three local governments: The City of Redmond, Lake Washington School District and EvergreenHealth Public Hospital. The public has a "right to know" information about their inner workings. Public Record Request forms usually find the information you need. When you don't get good information or it's a hassle finding it, you may feel like the bearded guy in the cartoon!
Below, are helpful links to the Public Record Request forms for each government. In my investigative reporting, I have some good experience with them and their Public Request Offices. I've found the public records office of EvergreenHealth the most professional, the City of Redmond a close second with LWSD in the rear.
Lake Washington School District (LWSD) has proposed redirecting levy funds from the 2022 Building Excellence Construction Levy.
LWSD will hold off construction in Sammamish and will redirect the funds to build 12 classroom additions each, at Eastlake High School and Redmond High School.
In addition, core space modifications will create room for students to move throughout the building, eat lunch and congregate. The additions and space modifications will be completed in the same timeline as before.
-- Shannon Parthemer
LWSD Communications Director
Ms. Parthemer's press release, 3/17/2024, Excerpted and edited.
Posted by Yoder, 3/27/2024
We have good news the King County Assessor is lowering assessed values in 2024 by ~20%. This may give the Lake Washington School District more breathing room for their proposed $971 million levy measure slated for Fall, 2024.
The LWSD construcion and funding plan
Elementary Schools: Rebuild and expand Alcott Elementary and Smith Elementary, Add a new elementary school in Lake Washington area.
Middle School: Rebuild or expand Kamiakin Middle School.
High School: Build a fifth comprehensive high school. Other: Refurbish Juanita fieldhouse/pool, Add space for early learning. High School: Build a fifth comprehensive high school.
Other: Refurbish Juanita fieldhouse/pool.
A $705 million "Renewal of Construction" Levy is proposed in 2028. It will fund school constructions needs for new student space, replacing ageing facilities, and reducing reliance on portables.
This levy would provide funding to build critical classroom space across our district and addresses aging schools:
Elementary Schools: Rebuild and expand Rockwell Elementary, add two new elementary schools.
Middle School: Rebuild or expand Evergreen Middle School
High School: Add additional high school capacity to Lake Washington area (TBD). Other: Add space for early learning in Juanita area.
Source: lwsd.org
