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INSIDE | City officials pursue state funding [3] Sports | Kent-Meridian aims to put boys basketball program back on the map [10]
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015
City Council looks at ways to fill budget gap Excel Public BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
The Kent City Council plans to count on excess sales tax revenues to help solve a 2016 general fund budget shortfall. That means no new city taxes next year. Mayor Suzette Cooke
proposed a slight jump in property taxes next year to cover a $863,000 gap. But the council expects on Tuesday, Dec. 8, to approve a 2016 budget adjustment using the higher than initially projected sales tax revenues to
cover the deficit. The council proposes to use $430,000 in excess sales tax revenue toward the budget shortfall. It also will reallocate $433,000 of sales tax revenues from the capital improvement
fund to the general fund to cover the remaining deficit. “This would take the place of the mayor’s proposal,” Council President Dana Ralph said last month at a council budget workshop. [ more BUDGET page 4 ]
Charter School continues to serve students BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
Excel Public Charter School in Kent will continue its mission of preparing students for college even as charter schools in the state fight to stay open. “We are committed to stay open,” said Adel Sefrioui, Excel’s founder and executive director. “We have commitments from funders to stay open for the rest of the year.” Excel opened its doors to sixth- and seventh-grade students in August three weeks before the state Supreme Court ruled charter schools unconstitutional. On Nov. 19, the Supreme Court denied motions by the Attorney General
SPECIAL SHOW & TELL
[ more EXCEL page 5 ]
Sister act: Irene Bartley, 92, center, shows students in Kathy Kier’s second-grade class her uniform jacket from World War II. Irene and her twin sister, Jean Lotter, left, who also served in the war, visited the class
at Meadow Ridge Elementary School on Monday after Irene received a letter written by Sydney Taylor, right. HEIDI SANDERS, Kent Reporter
HEARTFELT CONNECTION THROUGH LETTERS BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
Second-graders in Kathy Kier’s class at Meadow Ridge Elementary School in Kent got a living history lesson on Monday when two World War II veteran’s paid them a visit. Ninety-two-year-old twin sisters Irene Bartley and Jean Lotter, who both served
in the Army Medical Corps from 19451948, surprised students with the visit after Irene received a handwritten letter from one of Kier’s students. For the past five years, Kier’s students and others at the school have written letters thanking veterans for their service, which Kier, her grandchildren or friends’ children deliver to participants in the
Auburn Veterans Day Parade. “It is really amazing to see the look on the veterans faces when you hand them a letter,” Kier said. Irene sent her own two-page handwritten letter to Kier’s class, sharing her memories of the war and growing up in Kent. Irene and Jean marched in the [ more VETERANS page 2 ]
A girl pets an alpaca at last year’s Winterfest. The festival returns this Saturday. REPORTER FILE PHOTO
Winterfest comes to town Saturday REPORTER STAFF
A local holiday tradition, Winterfest lights up Kent on Saturday. The event, which runs from 1 to 7:30 p.m., is a Christmas gift to the community from the Kent Lions in partnership with the city of Kent, Kent Station, Kent Downtown Partnership and Kent Library. It is free to the public. [ more WINTERFEST page 5 ]
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