Teachers deserve good pay. For most I still believe it was a profession chosen because the person wanted to help children. However, the days of teachers being underpaid disappeared a long time ago. Nowadays most states have collective bargaining for all teachers and many for the entire staff. Washington belongs to that group. While every bond measure or ballot measure is sold on “helping the students or teachers” the sad part is that most of the moneys received are sucked into the administration. With few exceptions, school districts are op heavy with administrators, superintendents and other “specialists.”
Washington currently has a special election scheduled for most counties and for a majority of them, the election is about ballot measures and bonds related to further funding school districts. Many push the theory that seniors invariably vote against such measures because they have no kids in the system. From my research, this is false. Most like me believe our children deserve a good education and recognize that it takes support financially to do this. Though I looked at several of the measures from a couple of districts, I can only speak to the couple near me.
The measures talk about extending taxes from revenue received by the county in property taxes. This is a normal and common means of collection for school districts. These are based on a percentage of property taxes on buildings. There are several other methods that the districts receive funds and those are from fees collected during the development and permitting process. These are collected on a square foot bases or unit bases. Remember this is over and above the revenue received from property taxes. For instance, the North Shore School district receives close to $1,600 a unit for apartments built. They collect a little under $5,000 per home built. Other districts are similar. This information is never included in the explanatory area of ballot measures. This information is publicly available on the respective government sites.
Within your voter pamphlet each measure will have a pro and con with advocates or proponents speaking why you should vote to pass or defeat each measure. In school measures the advocates most always try to influence the reader by saying how the money is needed in the classrooms and teachers are underpaid. I’ve reviewed the pay and benefits for a few of the districts and in my opinion, these kind of statements are patently untrue. In North Shore for instance, the advocates wrote that the teachers pay amounted to $52,000 per year. This figure comes from the school district site itself. What the proponents of the measure don’t say is the benefit package that all employees receive along with their employment. A first year teacher in elementary grades will receive slightly less than $120,000 in pay and benefits while principals and vice principals receive $164,000-$187,000. District level superintendents receive in the neighborhood of $230,000 or more depending on the district. All districts that I reviewed were under collective bargaining.
Well I’ve established that while school teachers and other employees are not under paid, many deserve good wages. It is for our kids. So why am I against these measures? It goes beyond pay or intent, especially now. I think the voter needs to look beyond all of the hyperbole of why you should vote yes but how has the previous moneys been spent. It’s pretty easy to say that these schools need repairs if you’ve visited any site. Looking at rooms in Northshore and Shoreline, it’s easy to say they need upgrades, including painting. The districts are required by law to publish annual budgets. Have they adhered to them? Why does it appear that much of the maintenance has been deferred and in many instances ignored. Remember most of the public schools were closed for over a year in this so called “pandemic.” While most staff continued to receive their pay and benefits, the campuses remained empty. They incurred lower utility costs and also other maintenance costs at a minimum. What did the school districts do with the savings, moreover what have the districts done with the moneys they’ve received throughout their existence? These are things that should able to be asked in public meetings but budget and bond proposals do not get on the calendar, nor in the publics attention.
You, your neighbors or relatives have been affected by this pandemic narrative yet the school districts and most public agencies thrive. Isn’t it time for them to be accountable?
The Editor
