Many of you around town--indeed, around Spokane County--received flyers in the mail yesterday encouraging you to "Vote NO, Reject New Taxes" when considering the local school levy. If you didn't get one, you can see the Medical Lake version here. Some facts for your consideration:
Who are these guys?
They call themselves Citizens for Responsible Taxation, and they're based in Spokane. That tells you nothing--the real fun is that, since they're engaged in politics in Washington State, they have to register with the Public Disclosure Commission and reveal who their donors are. You might remember that around this time last year they were organizing against the levy elections in Mead and Central Valley.
So, who are they really?
According to the PDC, there isn't really a they, it's a he: Elvin "Duane" Alton, who last year donated $32,150 to Citizens for Responsible Taxation. That's 98% of their operating budget.
Wait a minute.....that Duane Alton?
One and the same. Grandma Alton's baby boy, neighbors helping neighbors, "We merged with Tire Rama!"--that's the guy. He also recently spent $6,300 trying to buy a school board seat in Spokane, so he's got an obvious interest in education. Right now, he's got an interest in making sure our kids don't get one.
What about the facts presented in the mailer?
The headline number, $3,390,000? You get that by reading the levy resolution the school board passed and adding up what the three year total would be. The mailer doesn't tell you that's a three year number; it's very intentionally designed to make you think that the MLSD wants to raise your taxes $3 million dollars plus next year.
The numbers at the bottom are similarly misleading; when they say that the cost to you on a $150,000 home is $895 dollars, that's really only $298 a year in local property taxes, or $25 a month. This is the classic lie of omission, and the rest of the flyer needs to be seen in that light.
OK, that's where they got their numbers from--what about the rest of the flyer?
"$3.39 MILLION IN EXCESS NEW TAXES!" is a lie--this is a replacement levy. The levy committee had a very frank discussion and took in a ton of input on the question about whether to run the levy at a higher amount, and they decided not to. This is not a new tax, at all.
"Did you know that YOUR TAX $$$'s already fund 100% of our children's education without requiring excess tax levies??? Why pay more???"---Is there anyone out there who really believes this? When our libraries have been cut in half, when there is no more elementary art, when we've had to tolerate reduction after reduction, do you as someone who works in the schools feel like our schools are being funded at 100%? When we just had the State Supreme Court affirm, essentially unanimously, that the state isn't living up to it's duty to provide basic education, isn't it a little silly for them to make the argument that 100% of our children's education is being funded?
Any other missing facts?
The biggest one--levy equalization. The reason they call it levy equalization is because it takes the levy you pass locally and puts more state money into it--if there's no local levy, there's no state matching. If we lost the levy, we'd also lose the $1.5 million a year in levy equalization. If that were to happen, I don't know that the District could continue on as a going concern.
So what now?
First we recognize that this hit was paid for by people with an agenda, people who don't live in the Medical Lake School District, and then we push it aside the same way we would the opinion of someone who says to you, "You know, your kid is kind of ugly."
After that, we communicate. Please tell your neighbors about the good work that we're doing in Medical Lake. If you live outside the district, take a look at the levy for your local school (almost everyone in the county is running a levy in February), and vote your conscience.
With thanks,
--Ryan--
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
On the School Levy
PLEASE NOTE: Canvassing was last Saturday, January 21st. Thank you to everyone who was able to participate!
Valentine's Day is going to be critical for most every school district in the county this year, as that's also election day. THANK YOU to everyone who signed up to donate to Citizens for Medical Lake Schools on a continuing basis, as well as those of you who made one-time donations to the levy committee. Every bit helps and is appreciated!
This Saturday at 10:00 we'll be gathering at Denny's to do some door-knocking around town. It's an easy time--assuming there's not two feet of snow, anyhow--and anything we can do to help get the message out will help the cause. If you're able to attend, please let your building principal know, or you can email me at medicallakeea@earthlink.net
Valentine's Day is going to be critical for most every school district in the county this year, as that's also election day. THANK YOU to everyone who signed up to donate to Citizens for Medical Lake Schools on a continuing basis, as well as those of you who made one-time donations to the levy committee. Every bit helps and is appreciated!
This Saturday at 10:00 we'll be gathering at Denny's to do some door-knocking around town. It's an easy time--assuming there's not two feet of snow, anyhow--and anything we can do to help get the message out will help the cause. If you're able to attend, please let your building principal know, or you can email me at medicallakeea@earthlink.net
What's the Deal With Our Dues Going Up?
About once or twice a year I get an email asking about the monthly dues, and I'm frankly surprised it's not a question I get more often--at better than $65 a month for a full-time employee, it's a pretty good chunk out of your salary every cycle.
I wrote back in September about what the monthly breakdown is for a full time person, but there's another perspective I'd like to offer as well--a comparison of what the yearly local dues are between us and other districts in the area. Remember, the MLEA portion of your dues is $60 a year:
Spokane: $248
West Valley: $204
East Valley: $191.40
Cheney: $216.96
Central Valley: $183.46
Mead: $272.00
Deer Park: $192
Nine Mile Falls: $120
Pullman: $90
Colville: $132
Riverside: $240
Moses Lake: $226.80
Freeman: $114.84
Grand Coulee: $120
Garfield-Palouse: $120
Liberty: $120
Newport: $84
The $60 that we charge is equal to what members pay in Republic, Ritzville, Nespelem, or Northwest Columbia, but ahead of Reardan ($36) or Davenport ($24).
We've worked really hard to keep the local portion of your dues low; we're not overly litigious, we keep our stipends meaningful but affordable, and we still provide the three $500 scholarships a year to Dollars for Scholars to assist our MLHS graduates in their post-secondary pursuits. With our declining enrollment and the concomitant decrease in the number of members our Association budget has gotten a little tighter every year, but we still have a very healthy reserve that would cover any emergencies that might come up.
If you have any questions about your dues money--where it goes and what it's used for--feel free to email or give me a call on my cell phone.
--Ryan--
I wrote back in September about what the monthly breakdown is for a full time person, but there's another perspective I'd like to offer as well--a comparison of what the yearly local dues are between us and other districts in the area. Remember, the MLEA portion of your dues is $60 a year:
Spokane: $248
West Valley: $204
East Valley: $191.40
Cheney: $216.96
Central Valley: $183.46
Mead: $272.00
Deer Park: $192
Nine Mile Falls: $120
Pullman: $90
Colville: $132
Riverside: $240
Moses Lake: $226.80
Freeman: $114.84
Grand Coulee: $120
Garfield-Palouse: $120
Liberty: $120
Newport: $84
The $60 that we charge is equal to what members pay in Republic, Ritzville, Nespelem, or Northwest Columbia, but ahead of Reardan ($36) or Davenport ($24).
We've worked really hard to keep the local portion of your dues low; we're not overly litigious, we keep our stipends meaningful but affordable, and we still provide the three $500 scholarships a year to Dollars for Scholars to assist our MLHS graduates in their post-secondary pursuits. With our declining enrollment and the concomitant decrease in the number of members our Association budget has gotten a little tighter every year, but we still have a very healthy reserve that would cover any emergencies that might come up.
If you have any questions about your dues money--where it goes and what it's used for--feel free to email or give me a call on my cell phone.
--Ryan--
Sunday, January 15, 2012
WEA-Eastern Workshop on Maternity and Paternity Benefits
For those of you who have recently expanded your family, or are thinking of having children, this workshop to be held at the WEA-Eastern office on March 5th should help you with any questions you have about leave, insurance, and all the other administrative things that go along with pregnancy. It'll also be useful for the gentlemen who may want to access paternity leave.
WEA-Eastern will pay for milage.
WEA-Eastern will pay for milage.
What You Need to Know About................Election 2012
The Education Votes website from the National Education Association is updated frequently with perspectives on the 2012 races. If you're interested in national politics, it's a fun place to spend some time!
The WEA on Charter Schools
This video gets to the heart of the WEA objection to charter school legislation here in Washington State; it's only a couple of minutes, and well worth your time.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Some Political Op-Eds for Your Reading Pleasure
The first was written by Represenative Susan Fagan of the 9th LD, regarding levy equalization; she's a great friend of the district and someone with a lot of passion about education issues. You can read it here.
Another good read comes from Rep. Joel Kretz of the 7th, which includes Fairchild and everything up to the Canadian border; you can find it here. Rep. Kretz was instrumental in beating back an attack on levy equalization a few years back, and that's meant millions of dollars for Medical Lake.
Another good read comes from Rep. Joel Kretz of the 7th, which includes Fairchild and everything up to the Canadian border; you can find it here. Rep. Kretz was instrumental in beating back an attack on levy equalization a few years back, and that's meant millions of dollars for Medical Lake.
ProTeach Seminar in Spokane, February 10th and 11th
Below is a cut-and-paste of an email that I received from the WEA regarding a ProTeach workshop being put on in Spokane next month. ProTeach is the process that new teachers have to go through in order to get their Professional Certificate; the feedback I've gotten from these WEA workshops in the past has been overwhelmingly positive. If you have any questions, please email!
Washington teachers certified after Aug. 31, 2000 are required to attain professional certification. The ProTeach ® portfolio, a fully online assessment run by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), is the means by which teachers earn their professional certification. The WEA ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar provides candidates with important information about the portfolio requirements, time to examine the three-entry portfolio in detail and the opportunity to plan how to meet requirements. This pre-candidacy support option helps candidates to prepare for the process and complements work with a support group during candidacy. Click here for more information about the ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar, including information about four-day summer offerings.
Winter Seminars: For the first time, WEA will offer a "condensed" two-day winter version of its ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar. The cost for this 20-hour event is $120 for full WEA members. Trainings will be 10 hours each day (8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and will include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants must cover their own substitutes for the Friday portion of the training, if needed. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Up to 20 clock hours are included in the registration fee. To run each seminar we require at least 20 registrants. If there are insufficient numbers, we will fully reimburse registrations that have been submitted. Course registration will close if a given event reaches capacity.
Spokane 2-Day Seminar (20 hours) -- Feb. 10-11, 2012 (Friday/Saturday). Register now.
Note: Our registration system closes Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. After that date, please e-mail Sheila Beaver to see if space is still available.
We hope you'll join us for this high-quality introduction to the ProTeach ® portfolio. Past participants have given this seminar series consistently positive evaluations.
Washington teachers certified after Aug. 31, 2000 are required to attain professional certification. The ProTeach ® portfolio, a fully online assessment run by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), is the means by which teachers earn their professional certification. The WEA ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar provides candidates with important information about the portfolio requirements, time to examine the three-entry portfolio in detail and the opportunity to plan how to meet requirements. This pre-candidacy support option helps candidates to prepare for the process and complements work with a support group during candidacy. Click here for more information about the ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar, including information about four-day summer offerings.
Winter Seminars: For the first time, WEA will offer a "condensed" two-day winter version of its ProTeach ® Jump Start Seminar. The cost for this 20-hour event is $120 for full WEA members. Trainings will be 10 hours each day (8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and will include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants must cover their own substitutes for the Friday portion of the training, if needed. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Up to 20 clock hours are included in the registration fee. To run each seminar we require at least 20 registrants. If there are insufficient numbers, we will fully reimburse registrations that have been submitted. Course registration will close if a given event reaches capacity.
Spokane 2-Day Seminar (20 hours) -- Feb. 10-11, 2012 (Friday/Saturday). Register now.
Note: Our registration system closes Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. After that date, please e-mail Sheila Beaver to see if space is still available.
We hope you'll join us for this high-quality introduction to the ProTeach ® portfolio. Past participants have given this seminar series consistently positive evaluations.
What You Need to Know About................The Health Insurance Takeover
Currently in Washington State most every school district has a separate insurance program. Here in Medical Lake we have 10 options, which differ slightly from the options in Cheney, which is different from Spokane, right on down the line statewide.
What the legislature is considering is creating one statewide insurance plan, much like the other state employees have, and putting all school employees into this new system. The genesis of this was a report out of the state auditor's office last year that said the state could save $180 million dollars by creating One Big Pool, which is math that is strenuously denied by the WEA. Statewide the Public School Employees union, which represents classified staff, has come out in favor of the idea, though our own local PSE has concerns.
In general, the thought about switching is that folks who cover their entire family would likely end up paying less out of pocket than they do now. Those who cover only themselves--essentially, those who contribute to the pool--would see their rates increase, and there wouldn't be pooling and longer. If the plan switched there wouldn't be a guarantee that you would be able to keep your current doctor or dentist, though if they accepted other state employees odds are they would take the new School Employees plan, too.
For more information please visit the WEA Our Voice website, here. The Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the House budget writer have all come out for the idea, but even if it goes through the important thing is to let them know that lowering our health benefits would be an awful thing to do to families.
What the legislature is considering is creating one statewide insurance plan, much like the other state employees have, and putting all school employees into this new system. The genesis of this was a report out of the state auditor's office last year that said the state could save $180 million dollars by creating One Big Pool, which is math that is strenuously denied by the WEA. Statewide the Public School Employees union, which represents classified staff, has come out in favor of the idea, though our own local PSE has concerns.
In general, the thought about switching is that folks who cover their entire family would likely end up paying less out of pocket than they do now. Those who cover only themselves--essentially, those who contribute to the pool--would see their rates increase, and there wouldn't be pooling and longer. If the plan switched there wouldn't be a guarantee that you would be able to keep your current doctor or dentist, though if they accepted other state employees odds are they would take the new School Employees plan, too.
For more information please visit the WEA Our Voice website, here. The Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the House budget writer have all come out for the idea, but even if it goes through the important thing is to let them know that lowering our health benefits would be an awful thing to do to families.
What You Need to Know About................The Redistricting Commission
Currently the MLSD is split roughly into between the 7th LD district, which includes Fairchild AFB and most everything north of Highway 2, and the 9th LD, which contains the town of Medical Lake proper and stretches all the way south to Pullman. We've been well represented by those legislators on our big issues like levy equalization, and it's been great to have them representing us.
Over the Christmas break the lines were re-drawn, and now Medical Lake will be in the 6th LD. You can see all the maps on the Redistricting Commission's website here and the new 6th LD specifically here; the upshot is that we'll now Cheney, Medical Lake, Nine Mile Falls, Airway Heights, Fairchild, and parts of the northern and southern portions of Spokane will all be in the same legislative district together.
We'll be working with the District to invite the current 6th LD legislators out to Medical Lake this spring; this includes Rep. John Ahern, who is on the House Education Committee, Rep. Kevin Parker, who serves on the important Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Michael Baumgartner, who is running against Maria Cantwell for US Senate. I have every hope that they'll be just as passionate about school funding as our previous legislators were, and we look forward to working with them in the future!
Over the Christmas break the lines were re-drawn, and now Medical Lake will be in the 6th LD. You can see all the maps on the Redistricting Commission's website here and the new 6th LD specifically here; the upshot is that we'll now Cheney, Medical Lake, Nine Mile Falls, Airway Heights, Fairchild, and parts of the northern and southern portions of Spokane will all be in the same legislative district together.
We'll be working with the District to invite the current 6th LD legislators out to Medical Lake this spring; this includes Rep. John Ahern, who is on the House Education Committee, Rep. Kevin Parker, who serves on the important Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Michael Baumgartner, who is running against Maria Cantwell for US Senate. I have every hope that they'll be just as passionate about school funding as our previous legislators were, and we look forward to working with them in the future!
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