This February, you will be asked to vote on 3 measures for the Lake Washington School District (LWSD). On behalf of the 29,572 students in LWSD, most of whom are not eligible to vote for their educational resources and opportunity, I humbly ask you to vote YES on all 3 measures. It is a wise investment not just for our students and families, but for our community’s quality of life. We are quite fortunate to have a strong public school system, and voting Yes this February can keep it that way. I truly believe that a strong school system helps develop capable children who will be our helpers and leaders in the community for years to come.
Proposition 1, the Educational Programs and Operations Levy (EP&O), replaces an expiring levy. The EP&O Levy funds 19.2% of LWSD’s operating budget, including essential staff and programs in place such as substitute teachers, Special Education, Highly Capable programs, English Language learning, nurses, early learning, teacher training, and athletics. As the state will be increasing its investment in education for all districts across the state, LWSD was able to reduce the amount requested locally and therefore will REDUCE its local tax rate for this levy. By voting Yes on Prop 1, you are voting to maintain the strong schooling LWSD offers today. The state’s approach is not meant to cover 100% of programs, that’s why local levies will continue to exist. To be accountable to taxpayers, the state legislature set a limit for local school districts to collect on this levy, and LWSD has taken this even further to collect $41.6M LESS than the amount authorized by the state. To maintain what LWSD offers today, we need to vote YES and pass this Levy. [Read "MORE" to learn about the other levy and capital bond.]