By Jennifer Langston

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — It bothers Tom Pendergast that his fourth-grade son has a social studies textbook written during the Reagan era that describes countries that no longer exist.

The encyclopedia editor and member of the Snohomish School Board has visited schools with lockers leaning off the walls and computer labs that are far from adequate.

That’s why he and other parents are hoping voters in the Snohomish School District will approve a programs and operations levy Tuesday that would make up about 14 percent of the district’s budget.

It would cost a resident with a $180,000 home about $545 a year. That’s about $7 a month more than the levy that expires this year.

The four-year levy is earmarked for expenses not covered by state funding. That includes paying for textbooks, some teacher salaries, student athletics, clubs, new technology and fuel for school buses.

The operations levy failed in February, missing the required 60 percent approval by less than 50 votes. This is the district’s last shot at passing the levy this year.

"It kills me to think my kids are going to get terrifically out-of-date information, that they’re not going to get computers," Pendergast said.

"I see us at this kind of critical juncture," he said. "I moved here about five years ago when the school district was in real trouble. It’s just made steady and marked progress toward fiscal responsibility, and we’re on a really sound footing now financially."

The district is still feeling the effects of a double levy failure in 1994.

After that failure, the district cut more than 60 positions, including teachers; depleted its cash reserves; put off maintenance on its buildings; and imposed fees for students who wanted to play sports.

The levy failure along with accounting problems contributed to a financial meltdown several years later, when the district found itself $1.5 million in the red.

Under new leadership, the school district made more cuts, balanced its budget and restored fiscal stability while trying to provide a quality education, officials say. It now has healthy cash reserves of about 5 percent.

"We’ve done a reasonable job of recovering … but there are still critical things in our district that haven’t been built back," Superintendent Neal Powell said. "These really are high stakes for Snohomish right at this time."

Powell said the district spends less than a quarter of what it should on replacing textbooks. Some computer labs are cobbled together with donated machines. Administrator-to-student ratios are lower than the state average.

The district worked this year to start dealing with a backlog of maintenance work on roofs and heating systems, but there’s still a long way to go, Powell said.

He said school officials are hopeful the levy will pass, considering how close the first vote was. Unlike previous years, there has been no organized or obvious opposition to the levy so far.

The administration, teachers and staff have made great strides to tighten belts, continue to offer a quality education and rebuild community trust, Powell said.

But if the levy fails, he said the district will have to cut programs and staff more deeply than it did seven years ago to keep the district on sound financial ground.

"If there happens to be a double failure, we will make the cuts as kindly as possible, but we will make the cuts," he said.

Bruce Richards, a board member of Citizens for Snohomish Schools with a ninth-grade son in the district, said unlike when his generation was growing up, the state no longer provides enough money to educate children.

He said he didn’t think that voting down a critical operations levy was the best way to express discontent with a local school district.

"The bottom line is that kids get hurt by this," he said. "So even if you had concerns or disagree with the priorities within the district for spending, you don’t solve that problem by choking off the money. You get involved."

You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452 or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.

Proposed levy rate: $3.03 per $1,000 for 2003, $3.05 per $1,000 for 2004, $3.02 per $1,000 for 2005 and 2006.

Cost on $180,000 home: $545.40 in 2003, $549 in 2004, $543.60 in 2005 and 2006.

Projected amount raised: $10.9 million in 2003, $11.4 million in 2004, $12.5 million in 2005, $13.4 million in 2006.