1,500 rally for school levy

Approximately 1,500 residents took to the streets of Lacey on Saturday, urging others to vote in support of a levy that would help fund North Thurston Public Schools programs.

School district officials say they face $17.5 million in cuts if the two-year replacement maintenance and operations levy fails May 20.

The levy pays for about 16 percent of the district's $112 million budget.

It pays for salaries of about 225 teachers and staff members that aren't funded by the state, as well as many student programs including arts, athletics and special education, district officials have said.

A four-year levy failed in February, and if the two-year levy fails this month, the district will have to wait until 2009 to try again, said Karen Eitreim, a former principal at North Thurston High School.

Eitreim was one of about 1,500 people, including teachers, families, administrators, school board members, students and cheerleaders, who participated in Saturday's hourlong rally, which started at the Capital Christian Center on Martin Way and wound through Lacey streets.

Near the front of the pack was district Superintendent Jim Koval.

Koval said the levy failed in February because some voters were concerned about other pocketbook issues, such as rising property taxes and a slowing economy.

Koval said he understands those concerns but added that schools are important, too.

The levy asks voters to approve a rate estimated at $2.18 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value, the rate voters rejected in February's election. That's $654 a year on a $300,000 home, about $100 more than this year's tax.

Eddie Gentry, who has taught health and fitness classes at North Thurston High School for about 11 years, said he is optimistic the levy will pass.

"There's a lot at stake for a lot of people," he said.

Those people include Terry Shaw, a choir instructor at Timberline High School. He said he's one of 12 teachers at the school who could lose their jobs; he received a "reduction in force" notice last week.

"When you get that letter, it kind of becomes more real," he said.

Rolf Boone is a reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.