County grant for Marysville kids sport was appropriate use

Published 1:30 am Thursday, October 6, 2022

I usually do not respond to letters to the editor because I truly think everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and secondly it can get into a back and forth. However, the recent letter criticizing Councilman Nate Nehring because he brought forth to the County Council the idea of helping out the Marysville School District with seed money for a one-year alternative sports program in my opinion should be examined more closely.

The council makes decisions on a regular basis how to use existing funds to make serve the community and prioritizes those needs. As we look at the impact the last two years has had on our society and especially on the children who were isolated from interacting with their friends, teachers and from even getting outside for healthy exercise, we saw a huge spike in mental health issues from the covid lockdowns. I believe the community and county should come together and participate in problem solving to provide what we can to support our children and their development, and I think the kids sports programs add value for today and in the future. Sports programs benefit many of these girls and boys who will hopefully become productive voting citizens in the near future.

The federal dollars are our tax dollars, so the residents of Marysville do have skin in this project. Even though the school levy failed, I would hope that since the council in total approved this expenditure, we, the public, can unite in support or step up to participate in the budgetary process. In the long run, I do believe this as other grant money benefits the entire county.

Kathleen Fitzpatrick

Everett