Editor,

I am writing in response to Lorinda Newton’s Jan. 19, “school levy is unnecesssary.”

For the entire time I’ve lived here, I have voted for all of the South Whidbey school tax levies. I do so for the same reason I support our parks, our fire/EMS districts, our libraries and public transit: these are vital services that serve all of us.

Ms. Newton views the proposed SWSD levy as a burden; however, she does not give an accurate nor a complete picture of what’s happening with our schools.

Fact: Student achievement rates for S. Whidbey are 63% for English, 46% for math, and 58% for science; and … when added together, these figures are 11 percentage points above the state average.

Fact: Over the years scores vary, however, during a 4-year period (2014-15 to 2018-19 school years) we’ve had a 30% incease in English scores and 20% increase in math scores!

Fact: Our district teachers have an average of 20.9 years experience, and over half of them have master’s degrees or higher.

Fact: There are almost 300 school districts statewide with voter-approved tax levies. These districts are all across our state, from urban to agricultural, from struggling to affluent. They include all of our Island County districts and also Mukilteo, Port Townsend, Seattle, Bellevue, Spokane, Walla Walla and Yakima, to name a few.

Given these facts and this more complete picture of our schools, I don’t see the proposed tax levy as an “unnecessary burden.” Instead, this tells me that despite state budgets, lawsuits and court decisions, our schools – including South Whidbey – need our ongoing support, to continue to improve and to stay meaningful and vital for our students, their families and our community.

David Freed

Clinton