Letter to the editor: Voting no on the levy will not send a useful message

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With everything that is going on in our country, most of us are feeling frustrated. When the ballot shows up in the mail, our first instinct may be to use our vote to let someone know just how much we disapprove of our school system and the way it appears to be headed. You may feel the teacher’s union is out of control. You may be over the immoral doctrines that are being dictated by state leadership. You may also be frustrated with masks, mandatory vaccines, or all the other rules that are only supported by a minority of the population.

Unfortunately, voting no on the levy will not send a useful message to any of these groups. If the levy does not pass, teacher salaries do not decrease, special services cannot be cut, and the governor will still use our children as pawns to implement agendas we didn’t vote on. Some families may be able to get around a lot of this by sending their children to a private school or homeschooling, but remember the vast majority of students don’t have this kind of choice.

By voting no on the levy, the message we would send is that Battle Ground will not invest in its future and we don’t believe in giving the next generation a chance. Many students need shop class, drama, JROTC, or band in order to get their adolescent life on track. This infrastructure is what the majority of the levy funds. It also funds buildings and upkeep so that students can have pride in the school they attend. It’s hard enough for students to want to go to school each day. Think of how much harder it is when the school is run down, constantly needing repair, and having to make due with old equipment and tools. All a no vote will do is reinforce the “who cares” attitude that we accuse young people of fostering.



The levy is one of the few taxes that we actually get to vote on. Make sure we’re sending the right message — that we are willing to invest in the future of our community. The school years don’t last long, but they leave a lifetime impression.

Jeremy Davis, Battle Ground