Quality education is a great investment in our community and our schools have stretched every dollar. Money alone doesn’t guarantee a competitive education, and adequate funding should be balanced with low taxes. Fortunately, here in Oak Harbor, we can have both. While Anacortes, Coupeville, and South Whidbey taxpayers spent an average of $1,993 per student through local levies in 2008, Oak Harbor managed with just $373. Assuming both school initiatives on the upcoming ballot pass, our total local tax rate, including school bonds, will still be about 81 cents less than the state average. Island County has the second lowest tax rate in Washington State; we get a great return on our investment.

Unfortunately, we can’t count on the stimulus package to offset needs. State funding is being reduced, and while we’re still learning about the details at the time of this writing, Congress has made three things clear: there are a great many strings attached, the money is short-term only and must be spent quickly, and it will be difficult if not impossible to direct funds to where they are really needed. The package’s purpose is to create jobs for two years— we educate each student for 13. Please “vote yes twice” for schools.

Peter Hunt

Oak Harbor