Lynnwood High to keep SRO
Lynnwood High School will continue to have a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy on full-time duty at the campus for the next three academic years, under an agreement between the county and Edmonds School District that the school board approved Aug. 14.
Snohomish County will provide a full-time school resource officer with the district providing 75 percent of the costs, namely the deputy’s salary. The district’s share of the costs for the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years start at $79,147.50 and build to $83,876.23. The money comes from the district’s general fund.
Other costs typically include a deputy’s benefits, overtime and vehicle use.
Deputy Matt Barker also teaches a “Law and Justice” class at Lynnwood High. He was a teacher at Beverly Elementary in the district before he joined the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department. Former SRO Rebecca Lewis moved on to the Police Training Academy.
Lynnwood is the only high school in the Edmonds School District to have an SRO. District funding for resource officers was dropped at the high schools in 2010 due to budget cuts, but LHS rearranged its budget to keep an SRO. The district now covers the tab.
Budget set for 2012-13
Edmonds School Board members on Aug. 14 put the final stamp of approval on the budget for the 2012-13 school year after many months of preparation and public meetings.
Staff describe the district’s finances as stable. The $195.3 million general operating budget reflects an expected enrollment of just over 19,374 full-time students. That count is roughly on par with where enrollment landed last fall. That year, district number-crunchers were taken aback by an actual head count that came in more than 400 students shy of expectations, leaving a $2.1 million gap to fill.
About 63 percent of the district’s expenses goes to teaching activities. The average classroom teacher earns about $54,000.
Staff expect to end the 2012-13 school year with $11.9 million in savings, equal to about 6 percent of its budget. That’s $3.9 million lower than the district ended 2010-11.
About 5 percent of the budget is spent on central administration.
The first day of classes is set for Sept. 5.
Refinancing will save $5.1M
The Edmonds School District has refinanced its 2006 bonds in order to take advantage of lower interest rates. The recent refinancing will save district taxpayers a total of over $5.1 million during the next eight years.
Interest rates averaged 1.45 percent on the new bonds compared to 4.99 percent on the old debt.
In 2006, voters approved a $140 million capital construction bond measure by 62 percent, authorizing the district to make various improvements as well as to rebuild Lynnwood High School, which opened in 2009, and Meadowdale Middle School, which opened in fall 2011.
UW Bothell students honor vets
A monument to honor student veterans is in development on the University of Washington Bothell. The Veterans Archway recognizes the service that veterans have made and celebrates their transition to academic and civilian life.
The design of the monument includes an archway with two columns and a centerpiece with an inscription that invites visitors to remember and honor those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The Veterans Archway has been organized and planned by the UW Bothell Student Veterans Association. It will be located at the northeast corner of the new sports complex with access to the North Creek regional trail.
The monument is expected to cost just under $60,000 – all of it to be donated. To date the students have raised more than $14,000 toward construction, including a generous $5,000 contribution from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Lake Washington Post 2995.
To contribute to the archway project, go to https://www.washington.edu/giving/make-a-gift. Enter “Veterans Archway” in the keyword search. All donations go towards construction.
Online program trains ESL teachers
Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education will offer distance courses online for its Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate Program beginning this fall. Community members and college students are welcome to apply to the program.
For more information, go to www.wwu.edu/tesol, email tesol@wwu.edu or call 360-650-4949.
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