School district and Tribe lay out levy's facts

The three points raised in Bruce Elliott’s letter are incomplete to say the least. Please allow the La Conner School District (LCSD) and the Swinomish Tribe to jointly set the record straight.

With regard to the “McCleary Fix,” the state has made significant progress toward meeting its legal duty to fully fund basic education.

Paying teachers a living wage is unquestionably a part of funding basic education.

In addition, school districts are required to provide – and pay for – more than just basic education.

School districts statewide face challenges from unfunded or underfunded mandates, including special education programs, McKinney Vento (homelessness assistance), courses for highly capable students and extracurricular activities.

These are just a few of the examples of underfunded programs that LCSD provides – and that are only possible because of non-state funding, which includes both contributions from the Swinomish Tribe and revenue from education levies generously supported by La Conner’s voters.

School Superintendent Meissner is very open to conversing with any citizens interested in the specific impacts of McCleary on our school district.

Mr. Elliot’s description of the Swinomish Tribe’s support for education funding is incomplete and misleading.

These are the facts: the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community provides over $1.6 million to support our LCSD students and schools each year.

The Swinomish Tribe’s voluntary, unrestricted cash contribution is funded from tax revenue collected by the Tribe on the Reservation, including from Shelter Bay.

The proposed school levy is for approximately $874,000 per year for two years, or roughly half of the Swinomish Tribe’s annual support of the school district.

LCSD is extremely grateful for the gifts, support and partnerships that exist between the Tribe, the school district and the community.

Likewise, the Swinomish Tribe is grateful for the work that Superintendent Meissner and LCSD staff puts into providing valuable educational opportunities to all of the children in the school district.

The Tribe and LCSD officials have committed to continuing conversations regarding the Great Wolf Lodge decision.

One need look no further than the current tribal-school district relationship to see how incredibly blessed the community is to have two entities so dedicated to enriching the lives of all our students.

Native American reservations and military bases are located on lands held by the federal government, which are not subject to state property taxes.

Every school district that serves a community located on federal land therefore receives federal “impact aid” to support education funding.

This federal support in the amount of approximately $2 million benefits every LCSD student.

Which brings us to Mr. Elliott’s question - “[h]ow is it possible for tribal members who reside on tax-exempt reservation trust land to vote for local property tax measures[?]” The answer is that in the United States the right to vote does not depend on property ownership, so that members of our military – as they serve their country, defend Mr. Elliott’s right to speak on this very issue and protect our constitutional right to vote – may vote on their local school levies, just like their neighbors living on non-federal land.

The same is true here in the La Conner School District.