School districts in Snohomish County did well in last week’s election, with a majority of voters passing needed levies.
In the Edmonds School District, the renewed levy covers 20 percent of the district’s day-to-day operations. In Everett, voters renewed a levy that covers 19 percent of the district’s daily operating budget; they also approved a smaller levy to fund building repairs and technology.
Cuts to education may be looming as the state continues to battle a $2.6 billion shortfall. Those potential cuts make the levies increasingly important as a way to fund education, school officials say.
“It is quite a statement that the public is willing to tax themselves in this environment,” said Everett School Board President Ed Petersen. “It sends a powerful message to the Legislature that the public values public education highly.”
Petersen may be right about that, but schools can’t rely on voters forever. There will come a point when voters – and taxpayers – will be stretched to the breaking point financially.
With that in mind, it’s imperative that legislators find a way to fully fund public education, something that won’t be on the chopping block when times get hard.
And it’s just as imperative that schools and districts find better ways to manage the money that taxpayers give them.
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