Snohomish County News
Everett High
celebrates 100 years
Doug Ramsay photo
Everett High School alumnus Betty Larsen–Hammer (class of 1950) of Marysville points to a photo of her aunt as Lyle Goodrich (class of 1938) of Mountlake Terrace checks out a copy of the yearbook from his senior year at the 100 anniversary celebration of the school’s main building Jan. 30. More than 2,000 former and current EHS students and guests gathered to reminisce about their high school days and to see former classmates, many of which had not seen each other for years. Among the former students was at least one from the class of 1922. Each decade was represented with a classroom filled with photos and yearbooks from that decade as well as books and photos in the school’s library. The feature of the day’s event was a slide show and presentation by EHS alumnus and local historian Larry O’Donnell, which attracted a standing-room only crowd in the school’s Civic Auditorium.
Mukilteo hopes smaller measure will win support from voters
MUKILTEO - For Mukilteo schools, next week’s election will make the difference between keeping extracurricular activities or slashing budgets further.
Voters will decide on two levies during the Feb. 9 special election, a maintenance and operations levy, which accounts for about 20 percent of the district’s budget, and a capital projects levy, which would fund major building repairs.
Maintenance and operations levy
The maintenance and operations levy funds educational programs not funded by the state, including all sports and extracurricular activities. The four-year levy, which expires in 2010, is up for renewal on this month’s ballot.
If the levy fails, the school district would lose almost 20 percent of its $140 million budget.
“That’s devastating to a school district,” said Judy Schwab, a school board member, during a meeting with students last month.
The levy translates to about $2 in taxes per $1,000 assessed home value.
Without the levy, teachers would be laid off, class sizes would balloon, and education programs outside the basics dictated by the state would be cut, including music, arts and sports programs. Levy dollars also go to help special education students and students learning English.
A portion of the levy also goes to salaries and benefits for teachers, administrators and employees “because of historical underfunding of salaries by the state,” according to the Citizen’s Group for Mukilteo Schools Web site.
Capital projects levy
For years, increasing numbers of students have meant increasing need for a new school building, but after a $139 million bond failed in 2008, the school district decided to fund current repairs rather than a new building.
The capital projects levy would provide the money for simple repairs and projects that are “boring, but important,” said Leita Garside, co-chair of the Citizens’ Team late last year.
Olympic View Middle School needs new boilers, Fairmount Elementary School needs new windows and Discovery Elementary School’s walls are crumbling away.
While the district still wants a new elementary school, which would cost about $28 million, “what we really need money for are repairs,” Schwab said.
Until the district has the money for a new school, administrators are recommending new strategies to accommodate students, including eliminating computer labs at each school, which would provide room for 275 more students. Administrators hope those strategies will delay the need for a new building for four or more years, and the district will probably not ask the voters for a new bond until after 2012.
If both levies pass, the total tax rate increase would be about $3.62 per $1,000 of assessed home value. That means owners of a $300,000 house would pay about $1,086 each year or about $91 a month.
Senior or disabled residents with incomes less than $35,000 each year can qualify for an exemption from voter-approved levies and bonds.
To find out more, or to join sign-waving campaigns to support the levies, log on to http://www.vote4mukilteoschools.org.
By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published Feb. 3, 2010