Sammamish Forum January 20

January 19, 2010

Support the libraries

The people of Sammamish are very excited and pleased with our new library that opened Jan. 9. This beautiful, “green” building was paid for with King County Library System capital funds.
Now we need to pass Proposition 1 to keep it and the other 43 libraries in the system operating up to capacity.
Proposition 1 will restore the property tax levy to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2011, one year only. Read more

Issaquah schools will ask for more levy money

January 2, 2010

New: Jan. 2, 11:52 a.m.

The Issaquah School Board moved to take advantage of a possible change in state policy which would let them increase taxes.

In a unanimous vote last month the board decided to increase the amount of the Maintenance and Operations Levy they’ll ask taxpayers to approve in February from $155.5 million to $172.5 million.

Board members approved the increase in response to several recommendations and changes occurring at the state and federal level. Read more

Issaquah School District to place levy on next year’s ballot

October 20, 2009

Issaquah School Board members unanimously voted to put three levy measures before voters on the Feb. 9 ballot.

The three replacement measures — a $155.9 million maintenance and operations levy, a $1.7 transportation levy and a $40.4 million technology and critical repairs levy — would sustain funding in those areas through 2013.
If approved, voters would be keeping the taxes they approved for the district from the 2006 levy package for another four years. Read more

Two vie for Issaquah School Board seat in Nov. 3 election

September 29, 2009

Two candidates — Marnie Maraldo and Wright Noel — are running for Issaquah School Board Director District No. 2.
It is the first time in 16 years the seat has been open; longtime board member Connie Fletcher isn’t seeking re-election.
The candidates are largely new to districtwide service, but both are active at their children’s schools and in the greater community.
Marnie Maraldo
u Education: Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics, Liberty University, Va.
u Occupation: Formerly a project manager at Cisco Systems; is a stay-at-home mother of two, Andrew, 10, and Madeline, 6, and part-time employee of Janie and Jack, a children’s clothing store
u Volunteer work: 2009-10 Newcastle Elementary School Parents, Teachers and Students Association co-president; 2008-09 Newcastle Elementary PTSA secretary and legislative representative; Stand For Children team leader; Committee Chair for Cub Scout Pack 738; volunteer for a kindergarten class at City Church in Kirkland
u Wants to be a board member because: “I believe education is the key for future growth of our community. I really want to see change, and as an advocate at the state level, I can help change come into our district. Some of the items in the bill signed last year for education reform won’t go into effect until 2018. I would like to see us get some of those reforms in our district as soon as possible.”
u What is your view of the role of public education in our society?
“To provide an equitable education for all students. It is the responsibility of the state, because the state benefits. If we are going to compete globally in future generations, we have to fix what we are doing now. If we don’t have children graduating from high school that can help our society succeed, those children fall into the people we have to support later.”
u What do you believe the school board’s role is within the school district?
“To provide processes and policies to the school district and basically act as the entity that holds it accountable to its goals.”
u How do you believe your leadership and qualifications will be an asset to the district?
“I come in already knowing a lot about the district because of my volunteer work. I know about our goals for all of our students, how we have been underfunded for a long time and how we are financed by levies and need levy equalization. But I am also a quick learner.”
u What experience in your background has prepared you for this position and how will you use it if elected?
“I would definitely pinpoint my advocacy work. It shows I have a passion for education. I also have experience in leadership and managing experience in innovative industries. I not only see the problems, but I can develop solutions.”
Wright Noel
u Education: Associate degree, Ricks College (now Brigham Young University), Idaho; Bachelor of Science managerial economics, Brigham Young University, Utah; juris doctorate, University of Washington
u Occupation: Founding attorney at Carson & Noel PLLC
u Volunteer work: Former Renton bishop and current Issaquah youth leader for The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints; SCORE soccer coach; 5 Star baseball coach; Liberty High School wrestling coach; assistant district commissioner for Boy Scouts; member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the state bar association
u Wants to be a board member because:
“I believe in public education, the good it can do and the importance of it to our society. Because of public education someone can wake up and decide they want to be a CEO or a politician. That is vital to our society and I want to live in that society, so I want to help maintain that.”
u What is your view of the role of public education in our society?
“We are a democratic society and we rely on people to make rational and educated decisions for it to work. The most important things for our kids to learn in today’s complex society are to learn to gather information and weed through it.”
u What do you believe the school board’s role is within the school district?
“One, it reflects and provides information about schools, so the school district can reflect the goals, attributes and desires of the community. Two, it should be evaluating how well the school district is doing according to its goals and determining whether those goals are appropriate ones. Three, by law, it does other things, like approve curriculum and evaluates and hires the superintendent.”
u How do you believe your leadership and qualifications will be an asset to the district? “I have kids from kindergarten to a senior in high school, so I have a perspective that spans the entire education system and how it effects people. I also bring the attribute of being a critical thinker, being a litigation attorney. I would use those skills to evaluate information presented by the school district, and look at it critically and see whether they are accomplishing what they say they are accomplishing.”
u What experience in your background has prepared you for this position and how will you use it if elected? “I have sat on boards and commissions. I understand how to work within them and understand the collaborative process that needs to take place.”
Also up for election is Issaquah School Board member Chad Magendanz for District Director No. 4 representative. He is running unopposed.

Two candidates — Marnie Maraldo and Wright Noel — are running for Issaquah School Board Director District No. 2.

It is the first time in 16 years the seat has been open; longtime board member Connie Fletcher isn’t seeking re-election.

The candidates are largely new to districtwide service, but both are active at their children’s schools and in the greater community. Read more

Elections to guarantee at least 2 new faces on City Council

June 10, 2009

After a flurry of announcements over the past few weeks, the deadline has passed and this year’s elections have taken shape. While the City Council race promises to be competitive, some of Sammamish’s elected officials will cruise without opponents in November.

Eight candidates filed for spots on Sammamish City Council, with two incumbents and six new faces. In at least two cases, the city is guaranteed to have new people on the City Council. Read more

State redefines basic education

April 28, 2009

After a contentious debate April 20, the state House of Representatives approved the Basic Education finance reform bill. Some local education leaders are cautiously optimistic.

“To me, it’s more a beginning than an end. It clearly reflects a lot of the things we’ve been working for,” said Doug Eglington, a Lake Washington School Board member. “But this all could be a mirage. It looks all shiny … but when you get close to it, it all might disappear.”

House Bill 2261 passed with a vote of 67-31 and now moves to Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature. 

All four Sammamish-area representatives voted for it.

“The fact that we are moving toward a new, more homogenous funding formula is good for us as a district,” said Issaquah School Board President Brian Deagle. “Even if the overall state funding stays at the same level, Issaquah will still be in a better position.”

The new paradigm will include state funding for all-day kindergarten, an extra period in high school and funding for gifted programs.

 It also establishes the possibility of funding pre-kindergarten for disadvantaged children and sets up a new formula for allocating transportation funding. 

The bill does not set a start date for the reforms or mention how to pay for all of the new programs, but sets the deadline for full implementation of the redefined basic education system at 2018. 

The bill also establishes a task force, to begin work in mid-2011, which will study teacher pay. The group will consider, among other factors, the cost of living in different areas in the state. 

“This is a success story of my entire experience here of a genuine, bipartisan effort to fix the most important thing that we do here – our paramount duty,” Representative Glenn Anderson, R-5, said from the House floor April 20.

If signed into law, educators and lawmakers can begin laying out the blueprints for the new system, Anderson said. 

“You want a very solid implementation schedule so you actually implement it and not just talk about it,” Anderson said. “You can’t build a house unless you’ve got a blueprint.”

 

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.

Issaquah schools could lay off 158 teachers

April 23, 2009

New — 11:01 a.m. April 23, 2009

Issaquah School Board members voted unanimously to lay off 158 of its 1,097 teachers Wednesday night, after district officials presented their reduction in force plan.

Teachers can expect to receive layoff notices by May 1.

Their contract stipulates that layoffs are based on seniority. Teachers who fall from No.1 to No. 902 on the seniority list are guaranteed positions next year. Teachers who are at or below No. 903 will receive layoff notices.

The positions of up to 195 — 17.8 percent — of the district’s teachers are likely to be eliminated. Thirty-seven teachers have already resigned or weren’t provided continuing contracts for next year. Read more

Issaquah School Board ponders 2010 bond and levy ballot

February 20, 2009

New: Feb. 20, 2:06 p.m.

Issaquah School Board members will decide whether to include a construction bond with a package of levies for voters to approve in 2010 at their Feb. 25 meeting.

Board members held a work-study session and spoke at length about the issue at their Feb. 11 meeting. Read more

Issaquah School Board endorses education reform bills

February 16, 2009

Issaquah School Board unanimously voted to endorse two bills supporting education reform,  House Bill 1410 and Senate Bill 5444, at a special board meeting Feb. 5.

Read more

City of Sammamish and Issaquah schools want better communication

November 25, 2008

Staff from the city and the Issaquah School District say the district’s new elementary school should open in the fall of 2010, on time.

Read more

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