Issaquah schools are great for the community, and great for kids.
“People move here for the schools,” says Dawn Peschek, President of Volunteers for Issaquah Schools (VIS).
VIS is a Non Profit 501(c4) organization, run completely by volunteers. Peschek has been involved with PTAs since her 12th-grade daughter was in kindergarten and has been volunteering with VIS for over a decade, helping pass “bonds for building and levies for learning.” Issaquah’s outstanding schools attract young families and keep the community vibrant, while providing local kids with a solid education that prepares them for the future.
“Our schools provide students with so many opportunities for exploration, acceleration and remediation, to discover who they want to be and what they want to pursue after graduation, thanks to the expanded high school schedules,” Peschek says.
Helping support those opportunities is the 2020 Issaquah School Levy, coming up for a vote on Feb. 11.
The proposed levy isn’t adding new programs, but rather maintaining the programs that were implemented with the 2018 levy. It funds security staff and systems that keep students and staff safe, mental health counselors who teach social-emotional literacy and help students problem-solve before they’re in crisis, as well as career and technical education that exposes students to career options beyond their high school diplomas.
Ballots have arrived in your mailboxes for the 2020 Issaquah School District Levy
Here’s what you need to know:
- Ballots were mailed Jan. 22, so you should already have yours.
- Ballots need to be postmarked or dropped in a ballot box by Feb. 11, 2020. Ballot envelopes are postage-paid, so you don’t have to worry about finding a stamp!
- This is not a new levy or a new tax. It replaces the last two-year levy expires in 2020. By voting yes, you’re voting to maintain current programs in Issaquah Schools.
- Because this is a replacement levy and because the district is retiring some previous debt, you’ll see a drop in your estimated combined local school tax rate from $3.46 to $3.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value in the first year and $3.30 in the second.
- When you vote yes for the levy you’re voting to continue supporting great programs and services funded by the previous levy, including:
- career and technical education
- mental health counselors and nurses
- safety and security
- special education
- highly capable programs
- extracurricular activities and athletics
- expanded high school schedules
- early childhood learning and preschool opportunities
These levy dollars are necessary to continue the high level of educational service available in Issaquah. The Issaquah School District received Moody’s AAA rating, the highest bond rating of any public school in the state. The district is fiscally responsible and sensitive to resident’s tax rates, while continuing to provide students with an outstanding education.
For more information on the 2020 Levy visit visvote.org or the Issaquah School District Levy facts and information page at issaquah.wednet.edu/district/levy-2020.
Follow Volunteers for Issaquah Schools on Facebook. And don’t forget to vote yes by Feb. 11!
Volunteers for Issaquah Schools (VIS) is a nonprofit organization run completely by volunteers. Support local kids by voting yes on the 2020 Issaquah School District Levy!
Volunteers for Issaquah Schools (VIS) is a nonprofit organization run completely by volunteers. Support local kids by voting yes on the 2020 Issaquah School District Levy!
