Board appoints pro and con committees for three levies after resident asks for clearer levy breakdowns
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Summary
The board named pro and con panels for three upcoming levy propositions and heard public comment urging clearer, earlier disclosure of levy breakdowns; boards named community members and students to pro panels and two adults to con panels for each measure.
The Issaquah School District board appointed pro and con committees for three upcoming levy propositions during its Nov. 13 meeting and heard a public request for clearer levy transparency.
Resident Jay Sternoff, who said he has lived in Issaquah in two separate periods, asked the district to provide a full breakdown of what each levy would fund before soliciting pro/con volunteers, saying past levy failures were tied to insufficient public information. “We know what the rough gross dollar amount, but we don't know the breakdown to this day,” Sternoff said, urging greater transparency.
The board noted information about the levies is posted on the district website, and staff pointed to an advisory committee of 60 community members that recommended line‑item contents. The board then appointed panels to prepare pro and con statements for the measures; typical appointments included Kelly Munn, Wright Knoll and Anil/Anil Dalayla on the pro side and Jeff Boardman and Michelle Williams on the con side for the measures recorded in the minutes. Motions to appoint the panels for each ballot measure were made and passed.
Board members said they preferred to select one panel per side to cover all three measures for consistency, and included student representatives on pro panels where available to ensure student voice in messaging. The appointments were made by voice vote and recorded as approved.