Our family is proud to support the passage of both upcoming renewals to the existing Anacortes School District levies.  This community partnership is critical to the long-term success and vitality of our schools, as well as to our community.

We understand people may be wary of taxes, and that is understandable. We also hope the public understands that local levy dollars are vital to fill the gap between what the state provides and what is required to provide any semblance of what our community expects from our school district. This revenue remains in our community, and taxpayers will see results in a more tangible way because of their local impact. It is our hope that people understand that continuance of these levy dollars provides support to maintain what we currently provide. Failure of this levy would be catastrophic.

One of the most important uses of local levy revenue is to positively influence our students’ learning environments through manageable staff-to-student ratios. Failure of this levy would increase class sizes to unacceptable levels, raising huge concerns with respect to overall effectiveness as well as simple management of classes and students.

Another important use of levy revenue is our large offering of curriculars. The state’s basic funding model does not pay for these critical opportunities. This includes all athletics (from C team up through Varsity), creative and performing arts, as well as student clubs and organizations. Often, these offerings are the hook that keeps kids engaged not just in school, but simply with others in a healthy, meaningful way. Many of these opportunities are essential to the fabric of our community. As former coaches, Kelsey and I have seen firsthand the direct and positive impact athletics, clubs, and activities have on the social, emotional, and mental health of our students.  A levy failure would jeopardize these offerings. Please join us in voting “YES” for our schools.

Pat Swapp