Last week the school board voted to make Medical Lake a part of the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools (NEWS), which is probably best known as the leading party to the most recent school funding lawsuit working through the system.
It's a big step for us, and I personally applaud the District for taking it. Now that they've signed on to the network the Medical Lake EA also joins on simultaneously, and you're also going to see many (if not most!) of the other school districts in Eastern Washington take the plunge as well.
What's the issue? For us, number one with a bullet is levy equalization (LEA). The state treats LEA like it's a favor to the property-poor school districts that they don't really have to follow through on, but for us it's a million dollars plus every year that allows us to offer programs, lower class size, and fair compensation. It's the same with the reduction in the Learning Improvement Days--Olympia's one-time savings is something that our near-retirees are going to be paying for as long as they draw a pension.
For more information about NEWS you can check out their website here.
The Official Homepage of the Medical Lake Education Association
