Letter writers lobby for school levy, praise the Procession, and question fear and hate

Vote yes for Yelm Schools

As a Yelm Community Schools parent, I am urging our community to vote YES for kids in the upcoming levy. Our students are finally recovering from the years of pandemic sacrifices: They’re regaining skills, building face-to-face friendships, and joining teams, extracurricular activities and clubs again.

Connecting students with their peers and community prepares them to do better academically and socially. The state does not provide any funding for student activities or athletics. Sports, clubs, and after-school activities at all grade levels enrich a student’s educational experience.

If the school district levy fails, the financial reality will be loss of staff, sports and music; larger class sizes; and loss of social and emotional supports our students desperately need. The state does not cover the full cost of special education, operational costs, staffing (such as teachers, mental health counselors, social workers, school nurses), and other important needs our students have. The state only funds about 79% of the district’s budget.

Costs associated with the activities and athletics include advisers, coaches, officials, transportation, insurance, facility usage and maintenance, equipment, uniforms, and supplies. The costs will be about $1.7 million in the 2023-24 school year.

This is not a new tax, it’s a continuation of the current tax levy. It ensures that the district can continue to provide all these services and extracurricular activities our kids need. Vote YES for what we value most: our children!

Tami Kirkham, Yelm

Celebrate the return of the Procession of the Species

What a wonderful article regarding the return of Olympia’s own Procession of the Species Celebration! The Community Art Studio at the Armory Creative Campus is open; see hours and workshops at procession.org and be part of this special, joyous Olympia event. See the 9-minute video all about the Procession on website too.

It’s an event created by the community for the community. All are invited to be part of the delight. There’s also the Luminary Procession downtown Friday, April 26, the evening before the Procession, which is at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27.

Linda DuPertuis, Olympia

Feminism: The radical idea that women are people

When my grandmother was born in Montana in 1910, her mother could not vote. When my mother was born in 1940, her mother could vote, but could not secure a loan, nor do much without the permission of a father, a husband, or a son.

When I was born in 1962, my mother could not secure a loan, nor be prescribed birth control without male authorization.

When I was 10 years old, abortion became legal, and no-fault divorce soon followed, and women’s sports were funded in K-12 public schools. I bought my own car and later secured a loan to buy a house. Birth control and abortion were available to women 16 years and older..

I am now 62 years old. The bodies of women, the very eggs in our ovaries, are now the political business of government. Legislation at both state and federal levels addressing inequities related to race and gender are under attack.

The same flavor of fascism that persecuted so many in the early to mid-20th century because of gender, race, religion and commitment to democracy is now on the rise. So is xenophobia.

Women and migrants, those who practice faiths other than Christianity, those whose ancestry is not nordic, those whose ancestry can be traced back tens of thousands of years in this land, are not enemies of anyone. Those who believe otherwise, ask yourselves: Who made you so afraid of humanity? Who makes money from your fear?

Liza R. Rognas, Olympia