Our Northshore School District is a special vibrant part of our community. It is known and respected as one of the best districts in the state and continually produces some of best scores on the standardized testing. Yet, we have been reading about the education funding crisis and how it impacts the Northshore School District and our community. State funds for K-12 education have declined in inflation-adjusted terms since the early 1990s. Meanwhile the task of educating young people for the 21st-century job market is growing ever more complex and expensive. School districts are increasingly using local levy money to pay for operating costs. Local levies were originally intended to enhance the basic education provided by the state, and there is a cap on the amount the school district raise from local levies. (Did you realize the Northshore Cap is one of the lowest in the Puget Sound?)

While it sounded this last year as if the legislature was increasing funding for schools, Northshore continues to trim its budget, not increase it. However, we can do something about improving the quality of our schools and the education of Northshore students.

The Northshore Public Education Foundation (NPEF) is a 501c3 organization that raises money specifically to enhance the education of all students in the Northshore Public Schools. Last month the Foundation distributed $90,000 to the elementary and secondary schools for literacy and math programs, programs that would not otherwise be funded. Over the past two years, NPEF has provided Foss Science Kits for EVERY elementary school, specialized science and history books for EVERY elementary school, safety equipment for secondary science classrooms and science text books for secondary schools. In addition, nearly $50,000 in classroom grants has been awarded to teachers for programs in science, literacy and history.

NPEF is currently running its fourth annual Calling for Kids Phonathon on October 15, 17, 23 and 25. We will try to call every family with a student in the Northshore School District. Our goal is to raise at least $100,000 to support elementary math enhancement, secondary enrichment and classroom grants. When thinking about education funding please consider supporting the foundation. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about us: www.npefoundation.org. There is a Donate Now link on the website, information for learning more about why your school district needs your help and of course, a way for you to volunteer your time. Together we can bridge the gap and help ensure that our students continue to receive a first class education.

Our school district is a core asset to this community and we need to continue to support it.