After failing to pass three of four school funding levies and bonds in 1998, pro-levy Volunteers for Issaquah Schools co-chair Kelly Munn vowed school tax proponents would never again allow themselves to rest complacently on the sidelines.
For two consecutive evenings Jan. 13 and 14, about 230 volunteers called nearly 12,000 school district residents and urged them to vote ‘Yes’ for three school levy measures in the upcoming Feb. 9 special election. Directing the effort from the Costco call center on Lake Drive, which the company donated for the two evenings as an in-kind contribution, Munn said the public response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s civic engagement with our community,” she said. “We’re keeping our end of the deal and keeping them informed about the levies … When communities get complacent and they don’t do a campaign, levies fail.”
At stake is well over $200 million for the Issaquah School District, representing more than 20 percent of their funding.
Faced with three levies and a bond issue in 1998, Issaquah School District voters turned down all but one of the measures — a critical Maintenance and Operation levy. The school board returned to voters twice more to get their slate of needed levies and bonds passed, losing time and money in the process.
Many of the volunteers were simply concerned parents who wanted to do all they could. Sitting next to each other in cubicles, Sammamish residents Theresa Larsen and Becky Lawrence both said the experience had been very positive and most residents were familiar with the issues and planned to vote.
“About 99.9 percent of the people we talked to said they’d support it,” said Lawrence.
ISD Superintendent Steve Rassmussen, who couldn’t participate because of a conflict of interest, nonetheless paid a courtesy visit to the call center and visited with the participants.
“These are great parents that support the schools,” he said, thanking them for their efforts.
Volunteers for Issaquah (VIS) also host a Facebook Web site online and are around town trying to get the word out by posting yard signs or standing near street intersections with placards. VIS volunteers plan to hold several more “Honk and Wave” gatherings to show support before the Feb. 9 mail-in election deadline.
If renewed, the Maintenance and Operations Levy would allow the district to collect between $35 million and $42 million per year from 2011 to 2014. Renewal of the School Bus Levy would provide $1.7 million in 201l to purchase 41 buses and the Capital Levy, if renewed, would allow collection of $32.9 million for technology and $5.6 million for critical repairs of schools.
Because the levies would replace expiring ones and no bonded debt is on the ballot, taxes are expected to stay the same or even fall if the measures pass.
Organizers estimate they will need at least 9,908 yes votes on each levy to pass them. At least 40 percent of registered voters must participate and a simple majority is needed for approval.
