February 15, 2012 in City

Levies fare well across the county

School supporters’ ‘energy’ credited with overcoming negative campaign

Jody Lawrence-Turner The Spokesman-Review

Christopher Anderson photoBuy this photo

Nancy Stowell turns to hug Mark Anderson as they celebrate the levy passage which early returns showed passing Tuesday.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

53 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

polistra on February 15 at 2:34 a.m.
One word: Boo!
oneanddone on February 15 at 4:07 a.m.
No taxing entity has more scrutiny and control than each school district. We should be so lucky to have that with every city or state agency.
dataxman on February 15 at 5:58 a.m.
Good for the kids - sad for the taxpayers. Ever notice when a dollar has to be cut it is always the teacher that gives it up? Never the dollars spent on administration. It would be interesting to see the ratio between dollars spent teaching (actual in the class-room teaching - not school support staff) versus dollars spent on ‘overhead’.
steve on February 15 at 6:00 a.m.
I’m surprised about Riverside SD where I live. Everyone I know voted for the levy. I teach in CVSD and I’m very pleased that the citizenry stepped up to the plate there and in other districts that passed. The youth of our country are our future. If we do not support them …..
ChefGus/ John Olsen on February 15 at 7:07 a.m.
Thank you to Kerry Lynch and all of the other folks who worked very very hard on this campaign… Good Job in controverting the fallacious and vicious attacks by Duane Alton and his dark side people…. John
Byrdie714 on February 15 at 7:16 a.m.
YAY for the levy!
A smart Spokane = A competitive Spokane!
PROFINTOX on February 15 at 7:19 a.m.
dataxman — agree. I have been personally involved with many teachers throughout my son’s education since he operates under a 504 plan and I can say most have been very diligent, hard working (many at home or at school after school working aspects of their jobs) and so on. Not all, but most. So I get tired of people talking about the laziness of teachers when as you note, we are “way heavy” on the top side. There is just no reason administration cannot be cut quite a bit. Not only are there too many chiefs but that is where many of the absolutely ludicrous ideas regarding rules, curriculum etc… come from. From those not involved on the front lines and with little experience there trying to apply approaches not suited to real world issues.
Crusty1 on February 15 at 7:23 a.m.
Hey Duane Alton….Thanks for you effort!! It helped us pass the levy! Without your misguided concern, who knows WHERE the levy may have gone. Good Job Duane!!
Crusty1 on February 15 at 7:23 a.m.
oops “your “ sorry!
Diana on February 15 at 7:24 a.m.
Hope the 60k was worth it, Duane.
Crusty1 on February 15 at 7:24 a.m.
The next time you want to “waste” $60,000 Duane. Throw it my way!! LOL
libmark on February 15 at 7:32 a.m.
Kudos, Spokane!
reservedparking on February 15 at 7:35 a.m.
The vocal minority may live here, but the majority of voters in the real world refused to give in to the misinformation of a disgruntled, narrow-minded group.
Here’s hoping Alton & his ilk bankrupt themselves on more failed causes.
Lowrider on February 15 at 7:50 a.m.
No more tires for me from Alton’s. He ran an absolutely disgusting campaign of misinformation. I’m glad people saw through it. Congrats to the districts and the teachers. I’m glad the levies passed.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on February 15 at 7:54 a.m.
Really glad these all passed, I admit I was worried about these levies this year with all the disgusting lies Mr Alton was sending out and the down economy…but thankfully a vast majority of people in Spokane realize how important our schools and teachers are despite the very small and vocal minority that post on here that make it sound like everyone hates them.
Really glad I never spent one dollar ever at Altons horrible little tires stores…but I do want to thank him for spending over $60,000 convincing people how crazy his side looked by having to resort to outright and blatant lies and misinformation just to get people to vote against these levies.
I am very proud of Spokane this morning.
stitch on February 15 at 8:11 a.m.
C-mon folks, “Neighbors helping Neighbors” as Grandma Alton would say.. Maybe Duane should have had her more involved in the campaign.. If you ever had work done on your vehicle at Altons, You’d only make that mistake once..
D Statler on February 15 at 8:19 a.m.
Thanks to West Valley residents for your continued support. I strongly reccomend attending your school board meetings. Keeping a closer handle on elected members and highly paid administrators appears necessary. It would be nice to see more than one choice on our school board ballots. We are lucky to have some great leaders at West Valley. Becoming more involved with our leadership will make them even better. I have to run and take care of your investment now. :^) Thank You
PlanB on February 15 at 8:31 a.m.
I’m not happy with the results. The schools are not doing enough to reduce costs (how about selling off a bunch of property that isn’t being utilized) and far too much of their budget relies on levy dollars. The state and city need to buck up and fund education properly.
Loudin on February 15 at 8:33 a.m.
Suck it, Duane Alton.
BTW: It’s unfortunate that the Deer Park levy is currently failing…but then what do you expect in a conservative community where half the population is on SSI disability and “gub’ment” assistance?
Taxes = Bad, Gub’ment welfare check = Good.
Loudin
Loudin on February 15 at 8:39 a.m.
@ Stitch,
You got that Alton’s scam right. I wonder if all these people who support his “cause” realize that it’s being funded by $1,000 brake jobs they had done at his former tire stores. Or perhaps by those Chinese-made tires he used to buy for pennies on the dollar and then then throw on your car for $140, installed?
What a great American that guy is: Helps to kill American manufacturing jobs and then pits old farts against school kids in communities he doesn’t even live in. Punk…
Loudin
reservedparking on February 15 at 8:39 a.m.
Well, let’s bring folks up to speed here (see my ‘real world’ comment above):
Grandma Alton died almost 3 years ago.
Duane merged with Tire-Rama & retired about the same time, unless he’s still running the place from in the shadows behind the curtain.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=261461
Rand on February 15 at 8:41 a.m.
“The two-, three- and four-year maintenance and operation levies replace the current local tax with a few dimes tacked on to compensate for state budget cuts.”
Not a loaded sentence or anything. Tell me if my my assessment is down for the last several years and my insurance hasn’t gone up why am I having to contribute more to my escrow account. Couldn’t be that taxes have gone up could it. I look forward to seeing the results that this money will buy though I won’t hold my breath. I imagine that we have “invested” in nothing more than more “homeless student liaisons” and other made up bs administration.
Loudin on February 15 at 8:59 a.m.
Here’s what we need to do to placate the whining elderly who think we all owe them something because they’re old:
If you don’t want to pay school taxes, don’t.
Conversely, if we (working, productive citizens) don’t want to pay for your Social Security and Medicare (from which you are drawing more than you ever paid in), we won’t.
I think that even the most bitter, blindly partisan old hacks in our community realize they’ve got a good scam working here. It would be in your best “anti-gub’ment/taxes” interest to maintain the status quo (you pay school taxes, you get your retirement welfare). In case you people don’t get it: We need an educated citizenry to maintain the Ponzi scheme that is YOUR Social Security & Medicare.
Loudin
PS: Why is it that so many people have their hands out for gub’ment money and yet gripe about gub’ment taxes or other people getting gub’ment money? We’re a frickin’ nation of hypocrites…
stitch on February 15 at 9:20 a.m.
Reserve: Last Comment I will make re Mr. Alton, as this issue is about community support, not bashing..
I assue you, Mr. Alton is not running Tire-O-Rama from behind the shadowy curtain.. Have set Tire-Rama up on 2 different occasions only to find them to be honest, and sincere.. Problem with Alton’s was, people need a fix, and they need it now.. They were always accomodating that way, but boy did they attempt to screw you over.. Didn’t realize Grandma Alton had passed.. Don’t spend much time lookin over the Obit section.. Thanx for the update..
PROFINTOX on February 15 at 9:20 a.m.
Loudin — exactly. So many Americans want something for nothing. That is why full socialism would never work here. Do not get me wrong — I am not advocating that at all — I am just saying, that is why it may work in a place like Norway or Denmark where they pay VERY high taxes to fund it, whereas here, people would want it without having to pay the taxes to support it. As you note, so many do not want to pay any taxes now but still got the hand out wanting. As you say — we are a nation of hypocrites for certain.
CougarGold on February 15 at 10:01 a.m.
PlanB -
“The state and city need to buck up and fund education properly.
The problem is that they’re not. In fact, they’re cutting funding at the State level due to the economic crisis, which at a State level, both the liberals and conservatives are struggling with. We are doing more at a local level because we’re forced to. And when I say we, I mean us as citizens.
As for the City, it’s not involved in education funding which is why there are independent school districts with separate governance and funding methods. This isn’t a City issue and if it was, the money would come from the same tax base but from co-mingled tax dollars. I’d rather have it separate, as it is, so that the money is more easily tracked. The net result wouldn’t be any different, theoretically.
The_Seer on February 15 at 10:32 a.m.
As a local educator I was hoping these levies would fail because until our institution will never conduct the major restructuring public schools require in the United States without facing a funding crises.
No wonder the gals in the second photograph are so happy. The black woman up front is the director of human resources in District 81, Angela Brown. Along with Stowell and two other women in the photograph, they make more than a million a year when their salaries and benefits are combined. That’s more than any elected official in the state of Washington and they are only graduating students at a 70% clip. How many of you would still have jobs, let alone annual raises, if you only performed your work 70% of the time?
For a Masters Thesis I conducted research into the growth of non-faculty positions in U.S. school districts starting in the early 1990’s. I tracked large, medium and small size school districts, urban, suburban and rural settings. My research revealed that non-facult positions, i.e. administrators, classified staff, counselors, etc. grew by 214% from 1990-2005 while faculty positions increased only 16%. These non-faculty staffing increases were accomplished mainly through the passage and implementation of these M&0 levies. Districts have come to rely upon a source of funding that WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TEMPORARY!
Voters have been duped again. Large institutions like public schools don’t changed unless they are forced to. You are the ones who hold that power so I guess the majority of citizens are satisfied with the product being produced by public schooling in the U.S.
Your lack of due diligence and servility to appeals to pathos are pushing the U.S. into the dumper. Not politicians, not unions, not an activist SCOTUS. You.
CougarGold on February 15 at 10:43 a.m.
From the other version of this story (my post):
Regarding the 33% dropout rate, this is from the 2010 Census:
Education level achieved in Spokane:
Index…………………………Spokane…….Washington…National
Completed 8th grade………90.0%…………87.0%………83.2%
Completed high school……88.1%…………84.8%………79.3%
Completed some college…61.8%…………57.2%………49.7%
Completed AA degree…….35.1%…………30.3%………28.8%
Completed bachelors……..25.4%…………22.5%………22.8%
Completed masters………….9.2%…………..7.4%………..8.4%
Completed prof. degree……3.2%…………..2.3%………..2.8%
Completed doctorate………..1.0%…………..0.7%………..0.9%
http://www.areavibes.com/spokane-wa/education/
Clearly there is a disconnect between the incomplete record-keeping of the school districts and the census. Spokane Public Schools doesn’t (or didn’t, don’t know for sure now what they’re doing) track students who leave a school, only that they’ve left. The student may have moved, transferred within the district, or chose some alternative education such as private schooling.
At one point, the Children’s Investment Fund group was touting a 40% dropout rate to bolster their campaign. That dropped to 28% prior to the election. The census numbers show significantly less numbers and above both state and national averages. While there’s always room for improvement, we’re not in the dire straights some would like us to believe.
GEG509 on February 15 at 10:45 a.m.
Thank you to the majority who get it! Schools are important and your priority to kids speaks volumes about the positives that strong and vibrant schools contribute to our community.
To all of you who are bustin the schools chops over being top heavy, obviously you haven’t a clue. SPS cut admin positions last year and who has taken the brunt of it? Teachers, and those that were supported by those positions. Regardless of the position eliminated the work still remains. District standards remain. State standards continue to change and evolve. Kids still show up. Teachers still need support. However, now there is no one to coordinate or organize those groups of teachers. Without a voice or leadership, teachers needs are unmet. Teachers and kids lose out because certain vocal groups and the union demand that the central office “trim the fat”. Ultimately the very groups that they are trying to support end up losing out. Look at where that has gotten school librarians. Who will be next? PE, Art, Music, Band, Strings, athletics, drama, dance, cheer? All areas hugely supported by administration central office percieved “fat”. Just remember when you demand cuts it will, not probably, but will certainly and negatively affect those that are working day in, day out with kids. Teachers.
GEG509 on February 15 at 10:54 a.m.
@ The_Seer. You are certainly not a social historian. Go back to your room and study.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/feb/01/levy-rejection-is-lesson-on-how-schools-suffer/
The_Seer on February 15 at 10:58 a.m.
cougargold: Census data concerning education obtainment levels are supplied by the citizen. The disconnect between the percentages of those who claim high school or equivalency is easily explained. School districts are judged by this rubric: What percentage of your students (without IEP or 504 plans) who started ninth grade graduated four years later? Also, people who subsequently earn their GED are included in census figures for high school graduates. The number of students who complete high school in four years in District 81 is below 70%.
GEG509: Can you please indicate, with verified sources, which administration positions in District 81 which were cut in the last few years? You are thinking about classified staff who work as para-educators, not administrators. We could get rid of almost every school administrator across the nation and it would have little effect on what happens in the classroom. The most successful charter schools have essentially eliminated administrators and passed their nebulous duties (along with a big chunk of their salaries) to classroom teachers. You’d be amazed how students react to classrooms where they know the teacher is the final arbiter of all rather than a myriad of levels of administration where they are allowed to obfuscate responsibility for their aberrant behavior.
The_Seer on February 15 at 11:03 a.m.
GEG509: I read that story when it was first published. Big deal. Mead Schools are still around, right? Trotting out Cash Stone to invent a worst case scenario doesn’t make it true.
I did enjoy your paternalistic demands though. I’ll guarantee I know WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more about school funding and how those funds have increased and been abused since when I attended schools all the while the quality of the graduate has decreased than you do.
CougarGold on February 15 at 11:04 a.m.
Seer - Your statement may or may not be true due to the reality that District 81 doesn’t/didn’t collect any follow-up data to know what happened who students who left any particular school. Those numbers aren’t statistically valid due to incomplete data.
As for the census data, while it may not be entirely accurate either due to how people answer, it is likely still comparatively accurate among Spokane respondents when compared to State and National responses so we still are likely ahead of both comparatively.
CougarGold on February 15 at 11:07 a.m.
Should have read:
“know what happened to students who left any particular school.”
larry_b on February 15 at 11:36 a.m.
It is a shame when 10% can vote for what 100% will have to pay. Its called a plurality not a majority. We need to go back to 2 thirds majority to really see what would happen, and also have these props brought up on general elections. Its called saving $$$$$$$ people!
GEG509 on February 15 at 11:59 a.m.
Seer , Are you the guy I took a class with many years ago who was working on yet another Masters? Yes, the guy who had ALL the textbook answers yet didn’t have bead on the reality of classroom experience. Even the professor shook her head when you began to spout. Could that be why none of those degrees have panned out into an actual teaching position? No one on the interview team wanted to hear theory and data garble without experience? Yes? I’ve been on that team and when you left the room there was a huge sigh of relief. Looked good on paper but
alas, too good to be true.
Carry on, Data
PROFINTOX on February 15 at 11:59 a.m.
With all of the detailed discussion regarding funding, lazy teachers (which I do not really agree with except that of course there are some of those), too much administration (which I TOTALLY agree with) etc… and its linkage to poor graduation rates (high dropout rate), kids coming out not educated to the proper level etc… why on earth cannot people see that though we do have structural problems with the education system, a huge, huge problem has to do with kids who simply do not care nor apply themselves and parents who are not involved enough with their kids. And sorry for that run on sentence. Anyway, that is a MAJOR factor in all of this. I graduated in 1984 and we had kids like that back then as well. Do not tell me you did not notice that when you were in school. You can try to persuade such kids to get serious but you cannot force them to. And you certainly cannot do much about the disinterested, uninvolved parenting that often accompanies such cases. Why does everyone always make it about ONLY the funding, curriculum, structure and so on. And before I get off my soapbox about that, I am not classifying the majority of students as this way. I have been involved with a great number of motivated and intelligent kids and involved, concerned parents, but I have seen so many in the other group as well.
o_pleez on February 15 at 12:25 p.m.
larry_b –
“It is a shame when 10% can vote for what 100% will have to pay. Its called a plurality not a majority. “
––––––––––––––––––––
Actually Larry, it was a majority, as the MAJORITY of those who cared enough to vote, voted yes.
Maybe Duane Alton and his “No taxes, never, for nothing” ilk should have done a better job of mobilizing the tea party crew, but they didn’t. I think his group actually swung some fence-riders over to the “Yes” side with the outright LIES and misinformation they spewed.
Screwing over tire customers is easier than meddling with the schools.
WHS on February 15 at 12:25 p.m.
I think you will find a direct correlation between how much we are willing to invest in our school systems and how well they do.
You will find that the most succesful schools, those with the best teachers, those schools that have high academic and athletic success are strongly supported by their communities.
Whereas, those schools that have the highest drop out rates and the most problems are typically under funded and poorly supported by their communities.
Why do most “private schools” typically have greater success? Because the families are invested in the school and to a greater extent, the private schools can demand parental participation and support.
WHS
stitch on February 15 at 12:45 p.m.
Geez GEG509, member since 10:45am.. Was that flight 509 you flew into Spokane on? If thats the case probably wasnt Seer in you class..
johnclarke on February 15 at 1:20 p.m.
The_Seer on February 15 at 10:32 a.m.
No wonder the gals in the second photograph are so happy. The black woman up front is the director of human resources in District 81, Angela Brown. Along with Stowell and two other women in the photograph, they make more than a million a year when their salaries and benefits are combined. That’s more than any elected official in the state of Washington
Seer, I for one will thank you for posting these facts. Yes, as I’ve posted before I have a child in the Mead district and I also voted against this levy for the very same reason Seer did. The administrators have created a special class for themselves, and their compensation outpaces reality. That’s right, we just voted in another 60 million.
The other reason that I voted against it? My child, who is of above average in brain power, and had perfect grades in all other subjects has trouble with math (just like I do). In spite of the taxes I pay, the 60 million dollars that just got voted in for Mead - she can’t get the extra help she needs. I know, I’ll hear how overtaxed teachers are etc etc etc. Class sizes are too big right ? I mean, there is just no money left over right ?
I hired a tutor.
The_Seer on February 15 at 1:25 p.m.
GEG509: I work for a private school where one person has the hiring authority. I didn’t have to endure that committee type nonsense you described where everyone who feels threatened by superior candidates comes up with a reason to exclude improvements to their staff. That’s why my school sends ALL of our graduates to higher education and most of yours are asking my students “do you want fries with that?”
I”ll guarantee we didn’t attend grad school together, unless you went to Columbia as well? I doubt it, an Ivy League school would have rid your writing of sentence fragments, but then again, you wouldn’t have been accepted in the first place with such abysmal composition skills.
I”v worked in public schools previously and remember your type well. Very few of you have any experience OUTSIDE your classrooms. You went from school, to college, and then back to school. This leads to what I call “suspended adolescence” where most public school educators never move beyond their teenaged worldview. They are easy to spot: They’ll be the ones wearing flip flops and shorts until mid-November only to have that “uniform” reappear after spring break.
de3 on February 15 at 1:37 p.m.
CougarGold, the web site you linked is not a reliable source and the data is wrong.
From EWU, on time high school grad rates in Spokane are around 76%
http://www.communityindicators.ewu.edu/graph.cfm?id=108
From WA State’s OSPI, the on time grad rate in WA is 72% and 80% for five year grads.
http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?year=2010-11
US Bachelor’s degrees - 2010 - age 25 and over is 28.2% for the entire country (from US Census American Factfinder web site)
WA Bachelor’s degrees - 2009 - 30.8% from Washington State Office of Financial Management at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/trends/social/fig208.asp
Spokane has about 25% with Bachelor degrees and is on par with the US but is less than than the state on Bachelor’s degrees as you can see
http://www.communityindicators.ewu.edu/graph.cfm?id=111
I am not going to bother checking other numbers since the areavibes numbers are useless.
The basic issue is true, and that’s the drop out rate people used to throw around was said to be 40% but went down a lot once bad record keeping was fixed up.
CougarGold on February 15 at 1:56 p.m.
de3 - Understood from the other thread.
The data collected within the school districts has been notoriously incomplete. At one time the dropout rate was thought to be 40%, then 33%, then 29%, now with your link, 24%. But that’s in on-time completion not counting later completion. However, having noted that, the link I had, as you pointed out, is suspect. When I have a little more time, I want to look into this further. It has my curiosity up.
GEG509 on February 15 at 2:28 p.m.
There you go again Seer, dropping names and the like in order to impress. Nice!
Oh ya, thanks for the flip flop image…does well for the mental image I’m getting….oh it’s becoming more clear….there it is….Dude abides, Dude abides!
MrNatural on February 15 at 3:25 p.m.
Yay!…indeed :)
flyerd1 on February 15 at 6:54 p.m.
–Regardless of your levy beliefs it should be disconcerting that we seem to have such a biased newspaper:–
There was a time when news agencies dissected both sides of issues and allowed equal time for each side to represent their arguments. It seems the Spokesman has completely lost it’s way in this regard and forsaken those historical civic responsibilities. Rather, they move ever closer to a checkout stand publication with little use aside from advertising and pushing agendas. The recent levy controversy is yet another example of extreme bias:
In regard to published comments there were:
33 Pro Levy (including numerous “staff editorials” and “Guest Opinion” columns with NO 200 word limits)…
vs.
3 Anti-Levy (with none of the aforementioned “extra long” columns). Interestingly (by pure coincidence I’m sure), 2 of the 3 were posted a scant 2 days before the voting deadline (after most people have typically already voted)…
11x more pro levy and multiple allowed to be greater than the 200 word limit. “News” Bias? The answer seems obvious and should be seen as sad and disturbing “by everyone”.
PROFINTOX on February 15 at 7:16 p.m.
flyerd1 — are you talking about comments such as you and I are posting right now or something else (since your numbers would be way off if you are talking about these forum comments and they are not subjected to 200 word limits). Perhaps I have misunderstood.
james_l on February 15 at 9:07 p.m.
I would like to personally thank Duane Alton for his efforts to convince the voters to turn down the levies.
In discussing the levy in my district with family and friends, the moment I mentioned Duane was one of the leaders of the anti-levy movement, they all decided to vote in favor of the measure. It seems that they all had bad experiences with Mr. Alton when he still owned the tire stores, which they freely shared.
When Duane owned the chain, Alton’s led Washington State in the number of unsatisfactorily resolved BBB complaints.
It is easy to see the value of his name and reputation.
Thanks again, Duane!
flyerd1 on February 15 at 10:50 p.m.
Profintox— I’m referring to the actual thread you clicked on to write comments like you and I are writing right now. If you search “levy” or “levies” on the SR site you’ll see listings of all related stories. I only counted ones in Jan and Feb (there were 5 other pro stories throughout last yr as well). Additionally, the one-sided stories written by their “journalists” (all pro levy) have more impact value than letters to the editor as well.
Being able to comment on these stories & letters (like we’re doing now) is helpful, but just like with political advertising, people are more likely to believe something after they’ve heard it multiple times. These skewed numbers kept the message going in one direction.
The SR was very sly in that they can now say they posted a few letters with the opposing viewpoint but by releasing them 2 days before the voting deadline they dramatically marginalized the impact they could have…
PROFINTOX on February 16 at 8:39 a.m.
flyerd1 — thanks for clarifying. I was focusing on the actual personal comments we all attach to the threads and so had become confused.
reservedparking on February 16 at 3:31 p.m.
Gee… maybe the number of letters published, both pro & con, represented the number of letters received, pro and con.
Maybe they got 11x more pro letters than con?
Perhaps you should have more facts yourself?
Wow…
flyerd1 on February 17 at 12:43 p.m.
“Gee”… maybe the con letters only came 2 days before the last day to vote too?
“Gee”…maybe they “lost” my letters too (that were “never” published).
“Gee”… what about the non-letters I specifically mentioned? I.e. the SR journalist articles (all pro levy).
Your choice to be naive is your own…and sad