VOTE NO ALL LEVIES & BONDS

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SKSD BONDS.

     Have you ever wondered what happened to the $271M bond? What happened to the “the buildings are falling down and the kids aren’t safe” rhetoric. Apparently, given that it was the biggest failure of a bond in the history of South Kitsap, apparently most people did not believe what the district, school board (less one), and the unions were telling everyone. Shouldn’t you be able to trust the people responsible for educating your children- apparently not?

     The answer is twofold. First, they are waiting for the legislature to change the 60% super-majority to a 50+1% so that they don’t have to worry about it. That will allow a very slight majority to tax everyone else for 30 years for buildings most will never see completed. More on this as the legislature meets and the district decides that taxes don’t matter to them since they all get a 7% pay rise every year and you, the taxpayer, pay their taxes for them.

     The second reason is that the levy is more important than any old bond. Why; because that is the money that they use to give all district employees their pay and perks with. Can’t use bond money for pay and perks but levy money is the gravy train of the district. District employees are all state workers and get the state “COLA” as other state workers get. However, the unions have put into their contracts an additional 3% raise for themselves. This makes the total raise for SKSD employees at 7% every year. Do you get a raise like that? If you are on social security, you will get a 2.5% raise in 2025. Are you willing to give your raise to some person in the school district so they can have their state COLA raise plus your raise- just for being in the school district.

     With the almost 300 extra employees the district tells you that you wanted them, you pay the entire cost for them. The state only funds about 1100 employees for the size of this district. So, the levy is the money they use to fund the additional 300 people plus all the extra benefits that all district employees get (higher than authorized pay scales and higher benefits packages). You, the taxpayer pay for this through the levy. If the state has fully funded education, then why do we need a levy?

SKSD LEVIES.

     The district has a policy where no none in the district can speak ill of the district. So, you will never hear of any problems in the district because no one is allowed to mention them. So, according to the district, everything is perfect with everyone, every day, forever. 

     Given that the pay and perks of the district now consume 90% of the budget, the levy is vital to them; not the kids. Of the $31M levy, pay and perks will consume $27.9M; leaving $3.1M “for the kids” but in reality, will go for some deferred maintenance, higher utility bills, etc. The district will cut student programs to fully fund their pay and benefits.

     So, what is the solution? It will take a double levy failure to allow the state to come in and make changes. These would include a new district staff, a request to recall the board members, terminate the superintendent(s), and put the district on the OSPI “help” list. This will allow the salaries to be reset to what they should be and also eliminate the 300 extra employees so that the money is used for what it should be- “for the kids”.

     SKSD plans on running its next “necessary” EM&O levy in a special election period in February 2025.  Superintendent Winter went on the record a few months ago saying there was not enough time to get that ballot measure on the November 2024 ballot. He told us it would to difficult (confusing) for the voters. Isn’t that just a bit insulting to you? He also said that capital levies were not big enough to build more than one school, so that would not work for them. For them it is truly go big or don’t bother I guess. Wouldn’t building one or two schools at a time be better than continually failing bond issues? 

     Why levies and bonds during special election periods? These elections actually cost us taxpayers more. These special election period ballots rely on low voter turnout. The District says all  school districts run their ballot measures (tax increases)  this way.  The District  "rigs the system" by running them when they know there will be lower voter turnout rather than running the levy (or bonds) in general elections because they bank on voters not turning out. They rely on this voting pattern where the majority of yes voters turn out, thus stiffing  the no voting vocal minority. The District banks on their 1400 plus employees (they want those pay raises) and their voter age family members who will also vote yes to ‘bring in the bacon in’ for the District. As stated before,  they all want our legislators in Olympia to  change the current SUPERIORITY rules.  

It currently  takes just 60 percent to pass bonds, but only 50 percent (plus one)  yes votes to pass levies. Expect to see more capital levies. They want it all, they want to pass every levy and every bond they put on any ballot. Let's be honest, these are all 'new' tax hikes.  They want  to show us  "Poor & Confused” voters  who's really in charge here.

     Here's a not so funny fact:   It costs ($250K per ballot measure for the District to run these ballot measures) far more for us (TAXPAYERS) to fund a ballot measure in special elections unless there are many other ballot measures appearing on special election(s) ballots.  November is almost always cheaper for the taxpayers, but the District just doesn't care about cost efficiencies.   They can’t help themselves to ‘gamming’ the system,  going out of their way regardless of the costs to us to put these ballot measures on special election ballots. Election periods  which historically always favor them with lower but more determined yes voter turnout.  It is all less than an transparent. It is  unethical, dishonest, and a disgusting "money game" these taxing districts play!  Yes, there are certain things they will not do to get your tax dollars,  but at the moment I’m failing to remember any of them.

STATE FUNDING.

And  what about public education funding the State also taxes us on on? All 295 public school districts in  the State of Washington continue to lay claims that our State doesn’t fully fund education; and let us not forget; “it’s all for the kids”, right?  Wrong!! Their mantra is that “it’s for the kids”. They always claim that the state that continues to fail to fully fund education. Excuse me, the state only has to fund basic education by law, so the District(s) continue to stuff all the bits and pieces of sausage bits they think “make up education” and then stuff all that into the sausage sock and call it ...all necessary and basic education. 

OSPI AND MR. REYKDAL.

Mr. Reykdal has requested another $2 Billion for education. That would give each district $6.8M more. Again, why do we need a levy if the money truly goes “to the kids”?

     A good example here is the promise that the community pool would cost no more than $4,750,000. At this point they are exceeding costs of at least $12,000,000. SKSD burned through COVID money (ESSER FUNDS) by calling the pool a classroom. They used that money to replace AC&R (air-conditioning and refrigeration) components that were stated to be “supposedly” necessary classroom construction line items. They did this because they found the COVID loophole on what a classroom may or may not be. So, they used COVID funds that were intended to fix some of the learning loss due to COVID, the proceeded to build a “Taj Mahal” community pool. All this in efforts to essentially bribe some of the voters into voting yes for the last $271,000,000 bond request that failed. SKSD had the worst showing for SKSD in history on the voting numbers failing a bond.

You may recall they came up very, very short on the “Yes” Votes, it fact is was the LOWEST PASSAGE RATE EVER.

     The pool was intended to be “the Jewel in the Crown”, so to speak. It was more like the cheese on the trap to glean more yes votes for that ill-fated, poorly planned and DOA $271,000,000 bond. You can bet some of the past and current board Director’s cheese slide off their crackers on that one!

     They (SKSD) hoodwinked The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) (see Reykdal up or re-election) by calling the “community pool” a remodel and “a classroom”. As It was former finance director Jennifer Farmer who told this whopper! Later the official at OSPI confided in a former school board director telling them that “they wished they had not approved that funding (COVID funds) for SKSD for their “pool classroom”.

Fund fact (2). SKFR brags now and then how great it was and will now again have the community pool to train their fire-fighters. Hmm, did we see SKFR contribute any money for this new $12,000,000 plus pool? No. Do they pay to use the pool? No. Do we have more people using the pool now? No.

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS.

     And what about SKSD Administrators and Superintendents (yes, there are more than one superintendent at SKSD) (Two) and let’s not forget abundance of senior highly paid executive directors, directors, assistant directors (all with their own executive secretary)who all feast on our tax dollars. They never miss a pay raise!

     With two board members (the chair) who are long time district employees with incredible retirements paid for by local taxpayers, don’t expect anything to change as they protect the system that was so good to them.

ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENT.

     As discussed earlier, the district will only tell you “great” news. Usually this success is limited to the first three elementary grades. Wouldn’t you expect the youngest to make the most progress? And they do so the district uses this to show how “fabulous improvement” is abound in the district. State figures as well as several outside agencies show the SKSD in the lower third of all school districts. The superintendents unspecified “Priority Plan” and “Top 5” plan were just rues to get hired and have proven failures since he has been here. What is important is how your student will succeed when they graduate and look for a job to support themselves. The SKHS continues to show miserable math, science, and reading skills which have never gotten above the scores in 2015. 

     It doesn’t matter if all of it is for naught, which it is, since academic success has never improved to any measurable degree, no matter what model this district uses to gauge it. And no matter how many tax dollars the District throws at the kids’- The District will say it is a State-Wide Problem, thus they are not the only “Johnny on their Left Foot(s)”. It is just one more “Johnny Left Foot” of the 294 other public school district in our state. 295 school district all doing the same, “failing the kids” and raking in great pay raises and generous benefits. What do we have to show for this?

     SKSD is clearly gamming the funding and tax system(s) to enrich the administrators and very senior and over paid teachers and staff. Is that even ethical? They just say they must remain competitive in the teacher market to get the best ones. And of course they say all of the other districts do it, and that the Washington State School Board Director Association (WASDA) guides them, that WASDA has all the answers so they just cite WSSDA and that all of the others District’s (left foot Johnnies) “do it”.   And then there is the rule of the land with SKEA and the other local and the national teacher/education unions reaping and pillaging our property taxes for the districts, and themselves of course.

     And again, these Districts and the current Superintendent of Public Instruction continues to lobby hard to get the bond passage rate threshold lowered from 60% down to 55% or 50%. Watch for it...

SKFR INFORMATION.

     More to come but just one piece of Trivia. Did you know SKFR Chiefs and sub-chiefs (when they retire) do not see a reduction in their retirement pay? In fact, they are paid the same retirement pay level when they retire, as they were paid while in the fire service. Let’s also not forget those cost of living increases and other big money perks which are of course for life!

     The “regular” firefighters work 48 Hrs on and 48 Hrs off. Guess how many have a “side” gig; given that they have so much time off; yet all make over $100K in pay and perks in SK (paid by you through their levy). 

     Also, they bought a van with a very expensive custom paint job to run around in so you don’t forget who they are.

     A ladder truck and we don’t have any buildings that it would be used on. Yet, they wanted one so they bought one with your money.

     Another Example of Abusing Taxing Authority: Kitsap fire and rescue. They are reading from the same sheet of music and using the same game plan as school districts, but that is another story that will soon come! 

We are aware that the district, the fire district, former school board chairs with court admitted mental problems. Some SKSS officers MAY BE under investigation at Keyport by the NCIS, and others use this website to glean information about what is being said so that they can “counter” it with “the real facts” versus the “misinformation” that is sent out.

     As stated earlier, district and board policy only allow the district to tell you how great things in the district are. Do you not feel betrayed that they are afraid to tell you the truth about what you fund in the name of “kids”? What “facts” can they tell you since they can only say how good things are? What can they say other than “it isn’t true” but can’t say what the real truth is since it may actually be “bad news”.

     In addition, the newspapers also use this as they don’t have time to actually investigate what is going on in the district. So all they use is what the district leads them to believe versus what the reality really is. What happened to actually investigating both sides of an issue instead of just printing a biased article with no facts or opposing comments just because they decide what will sell papers or show what they think is right for the public to think and know? 

This is just some of the iceberg many of us have not been seeing. 

More fun, and not so fun facts still ahead. 

WATCH FOR IT !

South Kitsap Citizens Demanding Fiscal Accountability: https://skcdfa.com/find new posts of unfiltered and UN-adulterer facts about SKSD and SKFR.