Students and community speakers urge a ‘yes’ vote on Battle Ground replacement levy

At the Battle Ground School District Board of Directors meeting on April 14, students, parents and staff made public appeals for passage of the district’s replacement levy, which appears on ballots due next Tuesday.

Student Rye Dilley, of Tewkes Valley Middle School, told the board the levy funds day-to-day supports for students and warned that, according to the district’s proposed budget, “if the levy were to fail” reductions to safety, instruction, enrichment and operations could “total over $20,000,000 going into next school year.” He urged the community to “vote yes” and called the district “a future worth voting for.”

The levy is a replacement for an expiring levy, Dilley said, and the district would see a tax-rate change from $2.14 to $2.42 per $1,000 of assessed property value if voters approve the replacement. Dilley also said Battle Ground would still have one of the lowest levy rates in Clark County even with the change.

Parent and teacher Ashley Wildy said the Aspire program and extra-curricular opportunities have changed her children’s experiences and said she is “proudly voting yes.” Wildy described her daughter’s progress after entering Aspire and said she feared the loss of after-school activities if funding is cut.

Eunice Ingermanson, a resident in Director Debbie Johnson’s district, urged neighbors to vote yes, suggested community outreach tactics and asked the board to consider ways to make board meeting proceedings more visible to attendees.

Student Lorelei Wode, an Aspire participant, described academic and extracurricular opportunities she accessed through Aspire — including National History Day, robotics and advanced geometry — and said cutting the program would remove those options for younger students.

Why it matters: District leaders and speakers told the board the levy supports counselors, classroom staffing, extracurriculars and other services that speakers said would be reduced or eliminated if the levy fails. District staff reminded the public of a final community forum on the levy this Wednesday at Prairie High School and told voters ballots are due the following Tuesday by 8 p.m.

Board and staff follow-up: Superintendent Denny and district staff promoted a Prairie High School community forum on Wednesday evening; district communications staff reminded voters of the ballot deadline. No board action on the levy was taken at the meeting.

Context and sources: Student and community speakers presented during the meeting’s public comment period. The board did not adopt new policy at this meeting; speakers’ descriptions of budget impacts were attributed to the proposed budget cited by Rye Dilley and to speakers’ personal experience.

Looking ahead: With ballots due next Tuesday and additional forums scheduled, district staff and community volunteers indicated continued outreach efforts in the coming days.