The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

To The Eagle

Do you ever wonder what our education system would look like without the support from levy funds?

Imagine this: You are a parent of two children so you must pack food, snacks, supplies, personal hygiene products, and drive your children to school. When you arrive, the grass is overgrown, the playground is fenced off and the gate is locked. Nobody greets your children at the door. You glance in the office and wave into the darkness. You escort your children to their classroom where you find the teacher. She/he is waiting for their 45 students to arrive with their laptops and hotspots which are paid for by you.

There are no new books, no papers, no overhead projectors, no supplies, no lunch, no recess, no field trips, no sports, no band, and no art class. No resources for when your children have a bad day and no one to help the kids who struggle. Your teacher teaches your students for four hours and then you must come pick them up so the teacher can clean their room and handle any other type of maintenance on their classroom or troubleshoot technology issues. If your teacher is sick or cannot attend class, class will be canceled that day but you will have no advance notice.

Please be patient. It is okay if you’re not the patient type because there will be no one to complain to anyway. There is no phone. Teachers have no support staff whatsoever. It’s just them alone in their classroom and 45 students. It’s hard to imagine, these types of thoughts are absurd. My imagination and thoughts run wild, who would work in these conditions? Only the most determined, passionate, pandemic survivors with a heart of gold. But most importantly, who would learn?

Please remember: Levies are for learning. Wahkiakum School District needs your support.

Please vote yes on replacing the levy.

Marlena Silva

Elochoman Valley