A greater downfall



Another reader complained against the Sequim school district levy as an assault on property taxes claiming the school district had an insatiable tax appetite.

The truth is that this is not a new tax, but a replacement for an existing tax assessment for our schools. It does have a slight but reasonable increase in the future, but costs are going up and education shouldn't have to go down.

It was said that the school district will spend every dollar they can get. Of course they will, but that is because it is needed to offset funding from state and federal sources that are going away.

The kids going to school now deserve an education equal to prior students. Sequim students already must do with below-average funding per student in the state compared to most other schools (32 percent below the state average).

It was stated that school district needs to "make do"; however, for this school year there have already been quite a few difficult cuts. Several costs, such as athletic fees, have also shifted from the school to the parents.

Yes, property owners are impacted by this tax and nonproperty owners get away from paying for it. Yes, a better system is needed for school levies. But that is the system that the state currently has, and complaints should go to the Legislature and not be taken out on the kids in reducing the quality of their education. Nonproperty owners also still have a right to vote on issues.

Are we overtaxed - probably, but taxes for education are not a downfall. In my opinion, not providing a decent education for the kids in the area would be a greater downfall.

Michael Barry

Sequim



Opportunity for all



In this very depressed economy, almost all business owners still in business and almost all homeowners not in foreclosure must be regarded as somewhat successful. And I would guess that many (most?) of these successful people were educated in public schools.

It shouldn't matter that many of us don't have children or grandchildren in Sequim's public schools now. What really matters is that our community supports the public schools to give all young people an opportunity for learning, enlightenment and an education that will help them in later life.

And for those students who choose not to pursue academic curricula in K-12, I would hope vocational curricula would be available to them in K-12 too. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be prepared to get a good job and pursue their goals in life, whether after high school or after university.

To that end, I suggest a yes vote for the Sequim School District tax levy is a vote to support our young people, their parents, our community and posterity. All people in the greater Sequim community who consider themselves somewhat successful and who attribute that success to their education, opportunity and hard work should vote yes.

And the schoolteachers, who dedicate themselves to the development of our community's children, deserve our support and appreciation. Schoolteachers today perform many more tasks than the average person realizes and work long hours to develop our children, many of whom will be our future community leaders. Vote yes, it's the right thing to do!

Richard Hahn

Sequim



Doing much with little



We are proud to call Sequim home and proud of our schools. So are many other people who have moved here from throughout the country.

Every few years we are given the opportunity to decide whether to provide financial support for our schools. In light of the challenging economic times we are facing, some may be considering abandoning their support for Sequim schools. But we cannot afford to compromise our future by denying our youth a proper education.

This levy is not for new funding for new

programs or facilities; it merely replaces the existing levy that expires this year. This levy generates local dollars to fund things that state and federal funds do not, such as support teachers and counselors; technology, computers, science and books; sports and clubs; music and art; and building and facilities maintenance.

This levy is essential if we want to continue providing comprehensive education for our kids.

The Sequim School District staff, particularly the maintenance staff, is remarkably thrifty. They do so much with so little. Our current levy is in the bottom 5 percent of the state in terms of local levy dollars generated, and the rate is well below the state average and below our neighboring school districts in Clallam County. The proposed replacement levy rate is well below the state and county averages.

Please vote yes for the

Sequim School District maintenance and operations replacement levy. Mail your ballot by Feb. 9.

Joe and Karen Holtrop

Sequim



Make do; we do



It seems you can't miss all those bright yellow signs popping up everywhere saying "Vote yes for our schools." I've seen others that say "Vote yes for our kids." They kind of give you the feeling that if you vote "no" on the new tax levy you are anti-education and you don't care about the children in our community.

Speaking not only for myself but with others I have discussed this with, we are concerned with the quality of education available here but we don't think the old bureaucratic solution of always increasing the budget at the public's expense produces any favorable results.

Nationally SAT scores peaked in 1964 and have been on a steady decline even though many billions are spent every year. (SAT tests have recently been revised to produce more favorable results).

Many retired people in our community cannot easily afford this substantial tax increase. Look at the proposed school levy on the ballot and note what it is in 2013! Wow!

I don't know many people who have gotten a big raise this year. I know there will be no cost-of-living increase for those getting Social Security and I know that CDs are paying almost nothing in interest. All of us have to make do and live within our existing budgets and so should the school board.

On behalf of those in our community living on fixed incomes, please vote "no" on this levy.

Peter Ignatjev

Sequim



Chaos and

drop-outs



As a senior at Sequim High School who has attended

Sequim schools for grades K-12, I've grown attached - especially to the outstanding staff who make our schools what they are.

However, these incredible teachers and administrators have their limits.

When I became an Eagle Scout, I was required to coordinate and lead a community service project of considerable scale. Though it was a thoroughly rewarding experience, believe me when I say that it is incredibly difficult to orchestrate and maintain the focus of a large group of people.

For this reason, I hold an immense amount of respect for each and every teacher I've had.

If the upcoming maintenance and operations levy fails, the restriction in funding would create the unfortunate reality of many Sequim teachers losing their jobs. Aside from the tragedy of losing such dedicated personnel, Sequim schools would be plagued with irrationally large class sizes, forcing remaining teachers to keep order within an impossibly large group. At this point, avoiding chaos would be an accomplishment, let alone actual learning.

I wish I had enough room also to convey to you what a profound loss it would be should Sequim lose its extracurricular programs like sports, music and the arts (which it will if the levy doesn't pass). Suffice it to say that student happiness would reach an all-time low and the drop-out rate an all-time high.

So I urge you, please vote yes for our schools.

Jason M. Kowitz

Sequim



Do the right thing



My dad often responded to the question "why?" by saying, "Sometimes you do it just because it is the right thing to do."

That's how I feel about voting "yes" for our Sequim school levy.

After being employed by the Sequim School District since 1968, my husband and I are now among those retired "fixed income" folks we rallied for levy support over the past 40 years. (Forty years???!!! ... My arthritic fingers cramped just typing that number!)

Sure, we have tax concerns and economic worries, but the bottom line is, a continuation of our local levy is critical for the successful education of our community's children.

A "yes" vote implies we value the health of our community, the hard work of our educators, and most of all, the future of our children. A "yes" vote is just the right thing to do.

Carol Kruckeberg

Sequim



Yes, yes



What would you be without a good rounded education?

You need to grab your ballot and vote yes for the Sequim levy renewal on Feb. 2, 2010.

We must keep our present programs and extracurricular activities to produce educated students.

Sequim students have become doctors, nurses, mechanics, lawyers and much needed productive citizens.

The Lotzgesell family celebrated 150 years in the Dungeness Valley and in our schools and we say yes, yes to our Feb. 6 levy.

Margaret Lotzgesell

Sequim High School class of 1943

Sequim



Their futures impact ours



For those who believe this levy tax is a frivolous and unnecessary request, I think it is important to look at the facts. First, this is a replacement levy. Secondly, we have a long history of running levies for far less than what we are legally allowed to. This is evident when we compare ourselves to other districts across the state. We are a property-rich district - 50th out of 295 in terms of total assessed value - yet we rank 227th out of 280 in terms of levy dollars per student. We can do better than this, Sequim.

Although this levy in-creases through its third year, it will still fall short of current statewide averages. This means that property owners have, and will continue to, pay less than many property owners in Washington state. With this in mind, it's safe to say that the Sequim School District is no stranger to exercising frugality. And yet, what could be a better investment than our children's education? It is also important to remember that every penny we spend directly and positively impacts our students. I say "our" students because I believe that their futures affect all members of this community, however indirectly.

We all know that Sequim is a great community, but great communities support their schools, so please vote yes.

Melissa Reamer

Sequim



Not to D.C., Olympia

or the city council



I support the Sequim ISD levy 100 percent and I am asking all my friends and neighbors to do the same.

Our country is facing one of its most difficult challenges in our glorious history. We are no longer the world's leading economy and won't be for generations to come. We must ensure that our children can compete on a worldwide level and the only way to do that is to make sure they receive the best possible education they can.

We talk about putting more money into our country's infrastructure, like roads and bridges; well, our children are our roads and bridges to our country's future and we better invest in them now.

This levy is not a new tax and the money from it does not go to Washington D.C., Olympia or even the Sequim City Council; it goes toward educating our children. It may cost us a little more, but I like to call it preventive maintenance. Either we fix it now and make it better or we pay tenfold in the future.

I volunteer at a lot of nonprofits in Sequim and I have come to realize that there is no more caring or compassionate community than ours. It is time to put our children's needs above our needs and ensure that they have the tools to compete in a world economy.

Please cast your Yes vote for our children's future.

God bless you and God bless our children.

Stephen T. Rosales

Sequim



One year at a time



Most everyone is a product of and supports our public school system without question. However, with the current disastrous economic conditions, now is not the time for a new three-year school levy increase of 80 percent - nearly doubling the levy tax.

This represents poor leadership and management by the school board and administration. By their own admission, they don't know the specifics regarding the future - no one does. Levy votes are not made based on the unknown.

The board needs to propose a new one-year levy request with the most accurate current data after having reviewed the nice vs. necessary issues - yes, this is the time to "get by," just like everyone else.

What planet are these folks living on?

This is the worst economical situation in 80 years - 10 to 17 percent of our citizens are out of work, we have a 5-percent increase in the sales tax (8.2 to 8.6 percent), the sewer fee goes up 15 percent this month, no increase in Social Security for seniors this or next year, a levy request for the library at a 60-percent increase, probably increases in federal/state taxes, reduction in home/401k retirement values - the list goes on and on.

Everyone is tightening their belts - private/public employees are taking reduced wages, benefits, hours.

Do not be swayed by lobbyists and folks with vested interests by scare tactics, brainwashing or false emotional appeals. Vote no on the levy and send the board back for a realistic one-year levy.

John Sartori

Sequim



Nursing offers many paths



I want to take issue with a statement made by your writer and Karla Morgan in the article "Midwife catches the keepers" in the 1/20/10 Sequim Gazette regarding her claim that in order to pursue a nursing career she would need to learn to participate in abortions.

As a nurse for over 35 years, I know for a fact that assisting in abortions is not part of nursing school curriculum. While I am aware that some hospitals do perform abortions, in my many years of experience in working, some of those with laboring mothers in hospitals, I never once participated in an abortion.

I will not speak to the abortion issue in itself but feel that clarification that nursing schools do not teach nurses to assist in abortions is important. Whatever path a nurse decides to pursue in his/her career, there are an abundance of choices out there to allow us to honor our beliefs yet offer our skills and knowledge to patients.

I am not criticizing Ms. Morgan's choice of career nor implying that she is not competent, I just wanted to clarify this one point.

Alberta Stamp

Sequim



Good story,

bad headline



The article about midwife Karla Morgan in the business section of your Jan. 20 edition was excellent but seriously marred by the disturbing headline: Midwife "catches" the keepers.

Morgan says she became a midwife rather than a nurse because a nursing degree would require learning to participate in abortions.

Your headline calling babies "keepers" was either deliberately malicious, certainly insensitive, or, at best, thoughtless. Fish are thrown back in the sea to grow larger; babies are aborted to kill them.

Susan Stromvall

Sequim



I will be afraid

In an anti-Obama screed Jan. 20, a correspondent repeats a litany of right-wing talking points and ideological presumptions: "Chicago-style politics, "socialism/Marxism," "systemic failure of the airline security," "dismantling the existing terrorist defense systems," etc.

Repeated incessantly on Fox News, talk radio and Internet blogs, this litany is as slick as any campaign concocted by Hitler's master propagandist Joseph Goebbels. It follows the principles of the propaganda profession: simplicity, symbolism and repetition. Repeat something long enough and true or not the public will believe it.

"Systemic failure" of airline security? In eight years since 9/11/01, we had a "shoe bomber," who failed, and last month the airline security of two sovereign nations, upon whose efforts we must rely, didn't detect a bomb hidden in the Christmas bomber's underpants. But he failed, too.

There was a systemic failure in America's intelligence apparatus, an apparatus created by Obama's predecessor. The Christmas bomber revealed that failure and it has been addressed.

The propagandists wish for a return to the failed economic, fiscal and international policies of the past quarter century. But America stagnated under those policies of greed, fiscal irresponsibility and foreign adventurism, until our economy collapsed.

We need to move ahead, not back. If America stagnates, it will die.

In opposing everything Obama proposes, the fear mongers denigrate the intelligence of the American people and our constitutional system of government. I am confident in America and our constitutional system but if this propaganda campaign succeeds in moving us backward, I will be afraid.

Roy F. Wilson

Sequim



Correct the

inequity



There are many reasons to vote in favor of our school district's replacement levy. One important reason is to support the wonderful professionals responsible for the majority of our children's educational instruction.

Teaching today is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Teachers face continuously changing demands and requirements to advance the learning of our children. We have raised our expectations of education to a level that is only attainable when teachers receive the necessary support required to do their job.

To ensure success for our teachers and therefore our children, they must have the proper educational materials, reasonable class sizes and help from supplementary programs.

If you have had the opportunity to spend time with a teacher lately, you will know they are quite efficient. This is not an issue of waste or poorly managed resources. This levy is necessary just to fund ongoing activities and those that have been stretched thin.

If our educational spending was on par with neighboring communities, or similar communities in Washington, one might make the argument that our children were getting a fair chance at success.

Unfortunately Sequim School District's children are not receiving the same advantages as their peers. The same peers with whom they will compete for placement in higher education, and eventually careers. We as a community have simply been spending much less than our neighbors. This inequity has existed too long and we are now eager to correct it.

Let's give the next generation and their teachers the support they need. Please vote yes.

Candyce Jack

Sequim