OPINION
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013 • Whidbey News-Times
Levy isn’t just a school issue, it’s a community issue Residents should be getting their ballots for the Oak Harbor School District levy vote this week. As voters review their ballots and weigh the pros and cons, I urge people to remember this isn’t just a school issue, it’s a community issue. Schools weigh heavily on the culture and economic health of a community. Where schools thrive, communities thrive. Oak Harbor School District’s current levy brings in just under $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. Officials are now asking for $1.98 per $1,000. By approving the levy, the district will be able to keep the teachers currently funded by the existing levy and also add some lost by state budget cuts. It will also bring new materials and equipment for students and restore programs also lost by cuts. There has been a lot of public dialogue about all of the things the levy will do, but there hasn’t been discussion about what would happen if the levy doesn’t pass. I sat down with school officials last week to discuss the levy and I posed the question. It’s something they don’t want to think about. “Failure is not an option,” Superintendent Rick Schulte told me. If voters don’t approve the replacement levy, the effects will ripple through the community. The district estimates 100 people could lose their jobs both by the immediate loss of funding from the levy and then after families leave the district. Officials estimate more than 300 families would leave in the first year because the district could no longer offer competitive education. Families leaving the district will take with them all the money they spend in the community, hindering Oak Harbor’s economic growth. When families move into an area they look at the school districts. With as much turnover from military families moving in and out, what’s stopping them from choosing to live off island? The levy is more than a school issue, it’s a community issue. In order to keep Oak Harbor thriving, all aspects of it must be healthy. Oak Harbor School District cannot be healthy without community support. I encourage everyone to vote in favor of approving the levy. —Megan Hansen, Editor
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Letters to the editor Education
You never know the impact schools can have Editor, Kids need to feel a significant sense of achievement and be acknowledged for it. Engaging in the arts is one of the best ways I know to achieve this. Participation in the arts gives young people the opportunity to challenge themselves and receive a positive response at the same time. Such experiences do wonders to fuel a child’s faith in the power of dreams. At Broad View Elementary I have watched many students take a huge step when they get on the stage for the first time, or when they transform a lump of clay into a treasured object. When they do it, they see immediately that they are capable of pushing
beyond the limits of what they thought they could do. As they work on artwork or performance, they learn they are helping bring an artistic creation to life. Recognition for their achievements is a powerful affirmation that their dreams are worth pursuing. The National Endowment for the Arts released a report in March 2012 showing that among at-risk students, more than twice as many kids with involvement in the arts planned to pursue a professional career (law, medicine, education, or management) as those that had no experience with the arts. To put it simply, the data shows that the arts make kids’ lives better. It’s clear to me, there is nothing more important than that. Robert Kennedy said it so well when he said, “There are those who look at things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?” Whether we are parents, educators, or arts instructors there is so much we can do to prepare our children to
Publisher.............................................................................................................. Lori Maxim Editor.............................................................................................................. Megan Hansen Assistant Editor . ........................................................................................ Jessie Stensland Reporters............................................................Rebecca Olson, Nathan Whalen, Jim Waller Administrative Assistant.................................................................................. Connie Ross Advertising Manager................................................................................... Lee Ann Mozes Advertising..................................................................................Gail Rognan, Angela Wood Production Manager.......................................................................Michelle Wolfensparger Marketing Artists.....................................................................Ginny Tomasko, Leslie Vance Circulation Manager.......................................................................................Gregg Travers Circulation Assistant...................................................................................Diane Smothers
achieve success in life. We can choose activities that will help young people interact with, stand out, be heard and dream big — for that is what they need to succeed in today’s society. I wish to thank the Oak Harbor community for their continued support of the art, music and physical education classes funded by the school levy. It has been a privilege to serve this community as an elementary art specialist for 12 years. You never know the impact education will have. Nicolette Harrington Oak Harbor
The focus is on kids, not labels Editor, On Tuesday, Jan. 15 I went to a council meeting in the Oak Harbor See LETTERS, A7
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