Through my roles as a parent, school volunteer, and member of multiple committees and advisory councils, I’ve been impressed with the Anacortes School District leadership’s efforts to proactively, transparently, and responsibly manage the budget.

In recent years I’ve watched them make difficult but necessary cuts in order to “right size” the budget in the face of increasingly inadequate state funding and a post-pandemic drop in student enrollment (a state-wide phenomenon not unique to our district).

Year over year, the ASD has worked hard to cut spending in ways that have the least direct impact on students. They’ve done this while actively involving the community through budget advisory committees, community presentations, requests for feedback from students, families, and community members, and in open school board meetings.

Costs continue to increase, and state funding is not keeping up. For instance, according to the superintendent’s recent levy presentation*, ASD’s utilities and insurance costs have skyrocketed over the last seven years. In the 2017/2018 school year, these costs amounted to $1.1 million, with the state funding $900K of that. In the 2024/2025 school year, those costs ballooned to over $2.1 million. Yet the state provided less than $1.1 million to cover those costs, leaving a $1 million shortfall.

Voting YES on the school levies will help ensure gaps like that are covered. The ASD is asking voters to maintain what we have now. Both of the levies are replacement levies—they aren’t for new projects. They’re to continue supporting what the district has “right sized” down to.

I urge my fellow Anacortes community members to get involved, ask the questions, and do the research to learn why this funding is so critical for our schools and our community.