Local option advocates kick off campaign

Sisters resident and Bend optometrist Winter Lewis will chair the campaign to support the March 12 renewal of the school district's local option.

Lewis and a group of about 100 volunteers will be spreading out through the community to answer questions and promote the passage of the local option. The group launched an informational website last week (www.sisterslocaloption.com).

"Parents have some really good questions and differences of opinions," said Lewis. "I appreciate the opportunity to have a well-thought-out conversation with point and counterpoint. It is an opportunity to recommit to the schools. In the end we all want to get better."

Since the 2000 election, residents in the Sisters School District have supported a tax override of 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to provide supplemental financial support to the local schools. This tax override is called a "local option."

Superintendent Jim Golden frequently cites the $1.2 million brought in during past years by the local option as a key factor in giving Sisters schools the best teacher-to-student ratio in Central Oregon and one of the best ratios in the state. He sees a direct correlation between the teacher-student ratio and the district's outstanding test performance, attendance numbers and 94 percent graduation rate for Sisters students (the state average is 68 percent).

New school board member and retired teacher Kay Grady is the school board representative for the campaign.

"Don't risk our kids on partisan politics," said Grady. "Sisters is all about relationships. Local option should not be political; it is about education. I'm willing to put in my money and my time to ensure the kids in Sisters can maintain their competitive edge.

"None of us got to where we are without a good education. Getting there is different for everybody, but education is a main part of 'there' for everyone."

Lewis noted that the volunteer committee is made up of parents, non-parents and retirees who are aware of what a good education means to society as a whole. With his own kids in Sisters schools, Lewis, who considers himself a fiscal conservative, volunteered for the school budget committee to better understand "where the money goes."

"I walked away after three years on the committee very impressed with how much is being done with so little, and that was before 30 percent reduction in state funding over the last three years," said Lewis.