It’s hard to feel optimistic about the funding of our public schools these days.
The recently announced budget gap and reduction in force (RIF) at the schools is disappointing. Much of the budget gap is a result of the state unexpectedly cutting funding for established programs. In response to this, there is little we can do other than come to terms with it, hope that the state restores some funding and support the school district’s fundraising campaign and the PTSA auction to the extent we are able.
The Beachcomber’s coverage (April 1) of the King County Library System board meeting focused almost entirely on the opinion survey. There was only one small line in that coverage which pointed in the right and relevant direction: “the condition of the K2 machine shop building.”
How inspiring that more than 200 Vashon High School students showed that discrimination doesn’t belong in their school on Friday, April 17 — the national Day of Silence. By choosing to be silent in support of those who feel silenced, these students sent a loud message that day: that harassment of any kind because of someone’s gender, sexual orientation or personal identity choice is unacceptable.
It’s a tough call — whether the school district should ask parents for money to help salvage a public school system struggling because of our political failures at nearly all levels of government. The worry, of course, is that little by little we’re chipping away at one of the pillars that upholds our democratic ideals — universal education.
The theater bug first bit me when I was 4 years old.
We had a death in our family my junior year in college, a loss that in a quiet moment can still cast a shadow over my psyche. There was no funeral, and to my great chagrin not enough tears were shed over the disappearance of this very influential force in all our lives.
My family has lived on the Island since 1887. Four of the five generations have used the library. My grandparents, Kate and Paul C. Land used it when it was where the Senior Center is now. A lovely location and even more meaningful because of the bronze plaque commemorating the boys who died in World War II that was in the contemplative garden just outside the building.
Ah, Progress! You know those brand new gleaming strips of asphalt all along the Vashon Highway that were installed in the last couple of weeks (and snarled traffic for days)? Let me just ask you this question: Is it me, or is that new pavement way bumpier than what was there before?
It’s only a little ironic that during the very weeks parents, educators and therapists are urging the Island to take teen substance abuse more seriously, six Vashon establishments fell prey to a sting operation and sold alcohol to an undercover minor.
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to articulate all that you have written about adolescent drug and alcohol use on the Island. It’s a prevailing attitude that needed to be addressed in public.
Someone recently told me, “Septic systems and sludge are not, of course, inherently interesting.”
I pretty much go through life quoting movies. You can find a lifetime’s worth of smarts in “When Harry Met Sally.” Don’t get me started on all of the wisdom in “The Wizard of Oz” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But ask any friend of mine about the movie I quote most frequently, and they’ll tell you this.
