Vote for school levies

On Feb. 14, many Spokane-area school districts will ask voters for approval of their maintenance and operation levies. These levies fund essential programs that our schools need in order to provide basic educational services over the next three years.

We need to support the education of our kids by approving these replacement levies. Even if you think you don’t have a vested interest in this topic because you don’t have school-age children, you should consider the bigger picture of our vibrant communities.

Good public schools are important to maintaining a sound community. From Cheney to Spokane to Deer Park to Freeman, we all need to be a part of providing well-rounded education for tomorrow’s business owners and employees. These replacement levies play a crucial part in doing just that.

It goes without saying that, with recent state budget cuts, the local support of our school districts is more important than ever before. Typically, more than 80 percent of levy dollars go to fund educational programs that are not funded by the state of Washington. Without levy approval, our school districts may be forced to slash music and technology programs, textbook funding, school bus transportation, facility maintenance and utilities.

Vote yes in February!

Damon Smith

Spokane Valley