Levy funds were meant for other uses

Published 9:00 pm Monday, September 23, 2002

According to The Herald’s Sept. 6 editorial, the Snohomish School District is offering half of the recently passed four-year levy for salary increases. The teachers’ union is demanding more than half – thus the strike.

My question is, doesn’t the district have a legal and moral obligation to tell voters exactly how these tax dollars will be spent before the election?

The ballot title for the February 2002 election asked voters to approve $48.1 million for instructional material, facility maintenance, technology and athletics. There was nothing about using $24 million for raises.

If the district intends to use an inconsistent revenue source such as a levy to fund raises, fine. At least tell the voters up front so we can understand that levies are indeed “For the Kids” – the big kids.

Snohomish