School officials, parents push for levy to renovate aging schools
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SEATTLE -- Parents lined the streets Monday morning, waving flags to remind voters about Tuesday's special election.
Their focus was a levy that would fund upgrades and renovations at aging schools.
Bagley Elementary School is one of the schools on the list of improvements if the levy passes. The principal says every day, teachers and staff members are faced with the challenges of an old, rundown school.
Inside the school, Ceiling tiles are falling. Janitor's closets are being renovated for offices. A faculty lounge is now a classroom, and some students don't even have proper desks.
"We have students who actually have floor desks, because we don't have enough space to have a meeting area and enough desks for children," said principal Erika Ayer.
Even the staff is running short on space, and are using an old motor home as a makeshift office.
"We love our building, but at the end of the day, it's still an 83-year-old building that needs repairs and improvements," said Ayer.
Bagley is one of 17 Seattle schools that would benefit from a capital levy voters are being asked to approve.
"It's imperative that all children in every Seattle school have the equity of modern buildings," said Ayer.
Overall, the capital levy would bring in $649 million. The district says renovations at Bagley alone would cost $18 million.
The district is also asking voters to approve an operations levy for educational programs and services, including textbooks and classroom supplies, teachers and instructional assistants and bus transportation.
If passed, homeowners with houses valued at $400,00 will pay, on average, about $152 more per year in property taxes.
Voters have approved both of these levies before.
All ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday to be counted.
Their focus was a levy that would fund upgrades and renovations at aging schools.
Bagley Elementary School is one of the schools on the list of improvements if the levy passes. The principal says every day, teachers and staff members are faced with the challenges of an old, rundown school.
Inside the school, Ceiling tiles are falling. Janitor's closets are being renovated for offices. A faculty lounge is now a classroom, and some students don't even have proper desks.
"We have students who actually have floor desks, because we don't have enough space to have a meeting area and enough desks for children," said principal Erika Ayer.
Even the staff is running short on space, and are using an old motor home as a makeshift office.
"We love our building, but at the end of the day, it's still an 83-year-old building that needs repairs and improvements," said Ayer.
Bagley is one of 17 Seattle schools that would benefit from a capital levy voters are being asked to approve.
"It's imperative that all children in every Seattle school have the equity of modern buildings," said Ayer.
Overall, the capital levy would bring in $649 million. The district says renovations at Bagley alone would cost $18 million.
The district is also asking voters to approve an operations levy for educational programs and services, including textbooks and classroom supplies, teachers and instructional assistants and bus transportation.
If passed, homeowners with houses valued at $400,00 will pay, on average, about $152 more per year in property taxes.
Voters have approved both of these levies before.
All ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday to be counted.
Seattle school district has, squander, lost, gave away and hired consultants with millions and millions dollars annually. Most are just written off as lesson learned. Time to hold them accountable folks, there is no way that they deserve 1 billion dollars + to do more wastefulness....
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no real plan, no real money
Hate to say it folks but no they don't budget for basic maintenance. Â I work in the design field and was told by a superior that we had to design for a no maintenance cycle. Â
Anyone who owns a home knows that you have to do routine maintenance and repairs to keep it liveable. There are a lot of 200 year old houses in this country that are in just as fine a condition as when they were built. Also if you have a small house and your family outgrows it you either do an addition or purchase a larger home. With schools they should be looking at schools that have low enrollments and adjust boundaries so there isn't all this overcrowding in a school like in the example. Didn't Seattle just close down a school or two? Just glad I don't live in Seattle for more reasons than this.
If you are a property tax payer in Seattle, take a look at Nathan Eckstein Middle School at 3003 NE 75th Street. Â Be sure to admire the nice new running track and the new artificial playing fields. Oh, and while you're at it, be sure to take a good look at the run-down main school building and the many portable classroom buildings. Â
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The Nathan Eckstein campus is a monument that tells us where the Seattle School District priorities lie. Â If you agree with these priorities then vote YES on both school levies.
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Oh, and what about that money that Silas Potter stole from all of us? Â Has he given it back yet?Â
What did the district do with the previous levy and the one before that. Sorry fellows, you'll have to do a better job with routine maintenance and manage the funding already in place.
Don't they budget for maintenance? I'm all for good schools, but do we really have the best people running this? I've read that our international competitors are spending less on 'brick and mortar' and they are out performing us. Maybe we all need to give serious thought to what a school really is. It's not a 'wing' issue, it's about basic competence.
Who can possibly trust Seattle schools with more money after the MILLIONS they've acknowledged as "stolen," "lost," and "unaccounted for." There was even a story on here recently about usual supporters of levies saying NO.
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Stop begging for more money, you should get ZERO until you prove you can responsibly spend what you already took from the tax payers!
Want to save money on new buildings or remodels? Â Try 'Home Schooling' - OR - 'Vouchers' for private schools, they have plenty of room and up-to-date facilities already! Â --- Just an idea.