Letter: ‘Strong schools benefit the entire community’



Hockinson resident Tisha Leibfried urges area residents to support the Hockinson school levy

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Strong schools are the foundation of a healthy community and a strong future. I strongly support the upcoming Hockinson replacement levy and encourage our community to do the same.

Tisha Leibfried
Tisha Leibfried

This measure is not new funding — it replaces an existing levy that is essential to maintaining the quality and stability of our schools. The replacement levy funds vital services that directly support students every day, including support staff, reasonable class sizes, and resources that help teachers meet the diverse academic and social needs of their classrooms.

The levy also helps sustain extracurricular programs such as band, athletics, and other activities that are central to a well-rounded education. These programs teach discipline, teamwork, leadership, and resilience — skills that extend far beyond the classroom. As a parent of a band student and athlete, I see the positive impact these programs have on student engagement and confidence. As the wife of the middle school wrestling coach, I also see the dedication educators bring to supporting students outside regular school hours.

Strong schools benefit the entire community, not just families with children currently enrolled. Communities with high-quality schools tend to maintain stronger property values, attract families, and promote long-term stability. Supporting this replacement levy is an investment in Hockinson’s future while ensuring we continue to meet the needs of our students today.

Without this replacement levy, we risk losing staff, programs, and opportunities that make Hockinson schools strong. A vote in favor of this levy is a vote for our kids, our educators, and our community as a whole.

I urge voters to support the Hockinson replacement levy.

Tisha Leibfried
Hockinson


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2 Comments

  1. Mark Engleman

    “Strong Schools Benefit the Entire Community”
    True. And that would be nice.
    But absolutely not what we have.
    All local public schools have been long corrupted by leftist ideology and extremely wasteful spending.
    Parents/grandparents should take all measure possible to escape. Like many have already.

    Reply
  2. Sandra

    I’m voting NO!

    I am sick of the way this school district continues to violate special education law—including discrimination and retaliation—and it has cost the district an enormous amount of money that they are not telling the community about. In my son’s case alone, I believe they have spent close to a million dollars when you add together payments to our family, to our attorney’s when they have lost and the district’s own mammoth legal expenses. Much of this has been driven by the Director of Special Education, whose actions have fueled ongoing IDEA violations and continued retaliation, but no one hears about it.

    When concerns are raised with Marshall, the complaints are simply handed back to the very person the complaint is about, and nothing changes. The district then acts as if these issues are unavoidable (not true), while offering no transparency or accountability. They appear to be hiding the true costs they’ve paid out for my son—and who knows how many other families.

    Taxpayers should not be forced to fund a system where high-level administrators are paid more than most staff in the district, only to create even more financial damage through avoidable legal disputes instead of providing appropriate services to children.

    Reply

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