Support teachers
In February 1973 Monty and I, with many other committed teachers and parents, marched to Olympia.
Guess what? We’re still marching – 44 years later.
Monty and I are 1967 alumni of Whitworth University in Spokane. We signed our contracts to teach in Marysville in April 1967. Marysville hired us immediately at the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane. After 30 great years in the teaching profession it was a dream come true.
The latest about what (Marysville Education Association president) Randy Davis wrote (in last Saturday’s Letters to the Editor) about is that the teachers of the Marysville School District have authorized a meeting in August 2017 to discuss potential statewide labor actions, including a strike over the Legislature’s continued failure to amply fund K-12 public schools as required by the state Constitution and the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision.
The vote authorizes the union to call the meeting based on whether the Legislature has passed a budget that fully funds public education and/or attacks the collective bargaining rights of the local association.
Yes, Marysville, it is important to stand together with other local districts if a statewide action is deemed necessary.
Laurel Lundgren Parratt, Marysville
Vote for Ihler
We have an upcoming primary election that is very important in Snohomish County. I have chosen to support Mr. Ihler, whom I’ve met several times, and I feel I have gotten to know him.
Some claim he has run a smear campaign. I do not feel that way. I think he is a concerned and informed citizen who has done an extensive amount of work for the local Republican Party. He wants to see it succeed and for those representing that party to be as adequate with their power and influence as possible. That is what he feels has been extinguished. Chris is a future leader in the growing independent populist movement that has started since before the foreclosure crisis. Chris has intimate knowledge of how the county works. He is trained by the private sector in financial responsibility, which the county more than ever needs. Any member of our community could feel comfortable approaching him about very serious issues, which I would encourage anyone to do.
Our county is one of the fastest-growing in the country, and we have serious development and financial concerns that need strong, open and understanding leadership. Chris can provide that. He has made clear on his social media posts that family time is more important than traffic time, and that the way you spend your money is more important than the county grabbing another dollar to feed wasteful projects.
This is the leadership we need.
Avery Hufford, Arlington
