Levy votes were a no-brainer | Letter to the editor

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 10, 2017

To the editor:

We received our ballots in the mail yesterday, voted and returned them today.

My husband and I usually take more time to debate each other, I being more conservative and my husband a bit more liberal, but this was a no-brainer for both of us. We both voted yes on Propositions 1 and 2 in favor of renewing the Bainbridge Island School District levies.

We have three sons in the Bainbridge Island public schools and we could not be happier with the education they have received. I know it is almost a cliché, but we did, in fact, move here for the schools. Excellent public schools are this community’s most attractive asset.

After my own children are grown, I will continue to support Bainbridge Island schools to ensure that the community remains one of the best places to live and raise children in the U.S.A. (Of course, I am hoping that my grandchildren will be raised here, too!)

Currently, our federal and Washington state governments provide only 78 percent of BISD’s budget for salaries, transportation, curriculum, technology, utilities and athletics. A critical 22 percent of our school district’s budget is paid for with local levies. (If you attend school board and PTO meetings, as all community members are invited to do, you will realize just how fiscally conservative and conscientious our school board and district leadership have been — they really do make every penny count. )

Failure to renew the school levies would leave our schools with a critical funding shortfall. If you believe, as I do, that adequate education is essential for the prosperity of individuals and their communities, please be sure to vote yes for the children, yes for schools on Feb. 14.

LEE MUIR

Bainbridge Island