In addition to the maintenance and operation levy, the Kent School District is running a second proposition on the Feb. 9 ballot asking voters to approve replacement funds for the district’s technology programs.
The tech levy is set at $5 million per year for four years and the district estimates it would carry a tax rate of between $0.26 and $0.28 per $1,000 assessed home value.
The money being requested by the district is the same amount voters approved in 2006 and the district emphasizes it is a replacement of the current levy and not a new tax.
According to Chief Information Officer Thuan Nguyen, the tech levy would pay to maintain what the district has done since the passage of the last levy and continue to pay for replacement machines to keep current the technology used by students.
“We’re not using the 2010 levy to add new initiatives,” Nguyen said. “We’re not in a position to ask more of the community.”
He also said that because of the continuing technological advancements being made, the district could find itself falling behind the curve if voters reject the levy.
“If this levy doesn’t pass for some reason it falls apart very quickly,” he said.
Teacher on Special Assignment Becky Keene is former classroom teacher who presently works in the district’s information technology department. According to Keene, the addition of the “multimedia bundles” to each classroom, which included the smartboards, documents projectors and teacher computers, changed what teachers do everyday.
“We see these as critical teaching and learning tools,” she said. “It’s now become basic tools.”
Keene also said the addition of technology to the classroom helps further engage the students in their learning process.
“That’s a resounding yes,” she said. “Kids will pay attention to digital ink more than a white board.”
Nguyen said the use of technology in the classroom better prepares students for when they see the same technology in the real world.
“By having access and having them use it, they become good digital citizens,” he said.
Superintendent Dr. Edward Lee Vargas said the technology levy, which also paid for the district’s one-to-one computer program to provide laptops to all middle school students in the district, is also an equity issue and provides the “same opportunities as every student.”
“We don’t want them to come to school and have to power down,” he said.
Dennis Higgins, chair of the Citizens for Kent Schools group that is promoting levy passage, said he has a six-year-old computer collecting dust in his garage because old computers are no longer relevant in the modern world.
“That’s what we’re talking about,” Higgins said. “When my kids are in school I want them to have the necessary tools to make them competitive.”
For more information on the levy visit the school’s Web site.
For more information on Citizens for Kent Schools and their efforts visit citizensforkentschools.org To volunteer, call Dennis Higgins at 253-508-999.
Proposition 2 (technology levy)
• Levy year
2010
collected year
2011
estimated levy rate
per $1,000 assessed value
$0.28
levy amount
$5,000,000
• Levy year
2011
collected year
2012
estimated levy rate
per $1,000 assessed value
$0.28
levy amount
$5,000,000
• Levy year
2012
collected year
2013
estimated levy rate
per $1,000 assessed value
$0.27
levy amount
$5,000,000
• Levy year
2013
collected year
2014
estimated levy rate
per $1,000 assessed value
$0.26
levy amount
$5,000,000
