If you think COVID is rough, gutting Tri-City school budgets is worse. Support the levies 

Schools have been at the epicenter of COVID frustration since the virus first emerged in Washington state nearly two years ago.

Closed school buildings, virtual learning, mask mandates, social distancing requirements and other safety protocols in schools all became a microcosm of how to manage COVID in society at large.

There’s been debate, turmoil, parental anger and protests. But through it all, our Mid-Columbia school officials have managed the unknown and the unexpected as best they can.

And now, they are at the point in their budget cycles where they must ask voters to once again continue supporting students with local tax money.

Your “yes” vote on school levy requests is desperately needed for this replacement tax.

If the funding doesn’t continue, students who already have been through so much disruption in their lives will end up dealing with even more.

Ballots for the Feb. 8 special school levy elections should already have arrived in mailboxes in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties. If not, they will be there soon.

Anyone who thinks that somehow the schools are in better financial shape now than before COVID should take the time to talk with school levy committee members in their respective school districts.

It’s true school buildings were closed during the state lockdown in 2020. But while money might have been saved in some areas, the pandemic increased many costs.

For instance, making sure all students had access to online learning became a huge expense for Tri-City schools. Many students needed new devices, like chromebook laptops, and mobile hotspots so they could get access to the internet.

Once schools opened, money was needed for masks and hand sanitizer and extra staff to continually wipe down desks and doorknobs and other areas.

It used to be the custodial staff could clean at night and that would be good enough, but that’s not the case with COVID.

While the federal government provided money to help with many of these extra costs, it isn’t enough to make up for a levy failure.

People who want schools to return to operating like their pre-COVID days should realize that gutting local funding will make that impossible.

Extra nurses, counselors, substitutes and paraeducators have been needed during the past two years more than ever, and they were available because of local tax support. Without the additional school nurses paid for by the levy, school districts would not have been able to keep up with COVID screening demands.

School levies fill in what the state does not pay for. Music programs, athletics, drama, art, and other extracurricular activities that the state does not deem as “basic” education is funded by local communities.

Of all the Tri-City area school districts, the only one that appears to have organized opposition is in Richland, where a statement against the school levy election appears in the Benton County Voters’ Pamphlet.

It says, “A no vote on the levy will send a message to the Richland School District that we are not happy with its current status. We have decreased test scores, increased suicides and our kids are still not back to school in a normal learning environment.”

Well, there are better ways to send a message than voting down a school levy. With that strategy, it’s the kids who pay the price.

In addition, Richland School Board elections this year were among the most hostile we have seen in a long while. Two new school board members, Audra Byrd and Semi Bird, were ushered in after their campaigns focused on dissatisfaction with school leadership.

They, along with the rest of the Richland School Board, are in full support of Richland’s Educational Programs & Operations levy and its Technology levy.

That should be a signal to their supporters that despite concerns over how the school district has managed during COVID, voting against the school levy won’t improve the situation.

All it will do is take more away from the kids.

Many school districts are planning levy information nights, and those dates and times can be found easily on school district websites, along with details of each school district’s funding request.

The Tri-City Herald Editorial Board met with school officials in Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, and believe each school district is making a reasonable ask of its voters. In many cases, the amount they are asking for is very close to the current tax rate. Part of that is thanks to all the tax-base growth in the Tri-Cities. And one reason people want to live here are the excellent schools.

So be sure and vote “yes” and turn your ballot in by Feb. 8. Students deserve the community’s support.

This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 12:55 PM.