deja vu all over again

Back in 1971, voters in the then-unincorporated Shoreline area, just north of Seattle, voted down the school district levy. The budget request wasn't outrageous, but with double-digit unemployment in the midst of what was called the "Boeing Bust," taxpayers rebelled. In order to trim $4 million from the Shoreline School District budget, according to William Lehr on HistoryLink.org, "In June 1971, [Superintendent] Stevenson announced that six schools would have to be closed to save money: Richmond Beach, Ronald, Cromwell Park, Paramount Park, and Cedarbrook elementaries plus Cordell Hull Junior High School."

Of those six, three were in the same central corridor of the district, a few miles from each ther, serving many working class families, including mine. My middle sister and I went from walking a block to school to walking a half mile. (My eldest sister was bused to another junior high.) Our classrooms were so overcrowded, they put us on half days. Teachers were basically running two classes, one after the other. While this lasted only a few weeks, the crowding and teacher workload took their toll on teachers, students, and parents, who scrambled to make do.

Why do I bring this up? Because Shoreline's in bad shape again. This time it's not the result of misjudging a sudden economic downturn (and, some would say, administrative arrogance). This time, a series of administrative bookkeeping errors has the district so far in the red the state government may step in next year. And students are again forced into overcrowded classrooms where they receive subpar instruction--not because the district doesn't have excellent, award-winning teachers, but because of the sheer number of bodies packed into spaces.

How much are we spending on that damn war, again?