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Skyway | The Skyway and West Hill communities are working on a community action plan. [Page 3]
FRIDAY, AUG. 21, 2015
State, district reviewing scores and refusals on state tests BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
The Washington State Board of Education has set the minimum scores for graduation on several state assessments, including the state’s new Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA). The board was required by state Legislature to set a score on the new assessments as well as the transition Math End-ofCourse and the WA-AIM tests before the
beginning of the 2015-2016 school year. The minimum score for the English Language Arts and math SBAs has been set at Level 2.6, with Level 4 being the highest. The State Board of Education met this week to determine the minimum score, in light of the fact that many 11th graders opted out of the SBA. Originally, the board was going to use 11th graders’ scores to determine the new standard. However, the board had to use a different methodology.
As reported earlier, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) stated in early July that only 47 percent of state 11th graders took the SBA. There were 27.4 percent confirmed parent refusals and 28 to 53 percent potential refusals in the 11th grade this spring. OSPI is still confirming the numbers to see, for example, if a student simply did not show up on test day or was refusing the assessment.
The Renton School District had 256 confirmed parent refusals for the English Language Arts SBA and 217 for the math portion among students in the third through eighth grades and 11th grade. Those numbers account for 3.3 percent of the total of students who took the English Language Arts SBA and 2.8 percent of those that took the math assessment. Choosing a different methodology, “The [ more TESTING page 11 ]
Book it: New library ready to be checked out
City hoping dispensaries get a license
BY TRACEY COMPTON
New city policy states all marijuana shops must be licensed by state, but enforcement not aggressive
tcompton@rentonreporter.com
At long last Renton will have back its beloved downtown library over the Cedar River as opening day is Saturday, Aug. 22. With the new building’s long journey nearing completion, officials at both the King County Library System and the City of Renton reflected on the process that ultimately saved the iconic facility. KCLS expects the project to come in at or under budget, but some financial information is still forthcoming as final details of the construction are still being reconciled in the budget. The overall budget was $11.8 million, with the City of Renton paying $10.4 million and KCLS paying $1.4 million. When asked if anything suffered in the city’s budget as a result of doing this renovation, Mayor Denis Law said that once the renovated Highlands and downtown libraries are paid off, the money will revert back to the general fund for other city projects. “In terms of the budget, the city agreed that we would dedicate the amount of money we were spending annually for limited library services to build two new facilities, if voters decided to contract services with KCLS,” which voters did in 2010, Law said. It’s also been three years since 76 percent of Renton residents voted to keep the downtown library over the Cedar River in a renovated [ more LIBRARY page 5 ]
BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Workers put the finishing touches on a colorful art piece that hangs above the reading area at the new downtown Cedar River Library. TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter
Everyday at Life’s RX Holistic Apothecary, a medical marijuana dispensary on Northeast Fourth Street in Renton, they serve between 40 and 75 clients, providing medical marijuana to patients with a variety of conditions. But with the passage and signing of a new state law this year and a move on the horizon by the Renton City Council and administration, that could all change in the very near future. “We’ll see what it looks like,” co-owner Konner Rose said this week. “I hope we can continue to help people.” Life’s RX is one of a handful of medical dispensaries presently open in Renton, though because of SB5052, passed and signed into law in the this year’s legislative session and designed to merge the unregulated medical industry with the recreational stores created by Initiative 502, they are now technically illegal. Because of that, many other municipalities in the area, such as King County, have begun shutting down the medical facilities. In Renton, the City Council on Sept. 14 is ex[ more MARIJUANA page 9 ]
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