By Karen Seiser - President, Snoqualmie Valley Administrative Secretary Association

 

Busby's dedication to children is needed on Snoqualmie Valley School Board

The Snoqualmie Valley Administrative Secretary Association endorses Marci Busby for Snoqualmie Valley School Board. As a group, we have worked for many years in the front offices of our district elementary, middle and high schools. Serving our communities’ children has been both a joy and a privilege. We are dedicated to their safety, well-being, and academic achievement and take pride in the quality of education our schools provide them. For these reasons we care deeply about who oversees the schools in our district and we support Marci Busby as she seeks re-election.

 

Busby represents the values we need most, integrity, experience, and a willingness to listen to staff, students and community on all issues. She values school staff and has a long track record in supporting them. Marci has lived in the valley since 1984 and has dedicated 27 years of service to the Snoqualmie Valley School District in various capacities. She has three grown daughters who attended K-12 in the Snoqualmie Valley School District, where she believes they received outstanding educations that enabled them to attend the colleges of their choice.

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Marci has a solid plan to manage future growth in our district and a realistic bond and levy approach for taxpayers.  In short, Marci listens to our staff, students and community and does not promote her own personal agenda. She believes that every child is important, from elementary to high school in our district. We need her gentle voice and dedication to our children on our school board.

 

Karen Seiser

North Bend

President, Snoqualmie Valley Administrative Secretary Association

 

By Caroline Loudenback

"I proudly support re-electing Marci Busby to serve another term on our Snoqualmie Valley School Board!

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One of the things I learned as a member of the school board was that you mostly lose your advocacy hat while serving unless you are advocating for all of the district student population. Our school district covers over 400 sq. miles spanning from Snoqualmie Pass to parts of Redmond and Carnation. As a school board member your job is to represent ALL the students in the district. It is not the job of a school board member to focus their attention on a certain group of students or students from one city or another. Serving on the school board should never be a stepping stone to some other political office or one for a candidate who has an agenda, there is simply too much at stake.

 

Some people may see Marci in the Snoqualmie Valley School District Board Room during the formal board meetings and think she doesn’t have much to say, but those that really know her, know for a fact that is not true. She is usually intently listening and thoughtfully considering what is being said by others. I had the honor of serving with her for four years on the school board and was always impressed with the level of professionalism, attention and respect she gives to everyone. She is obviously well respected by those in the community who know her and have seen her work in the Snoqualmie Valley School District where she has been volunteering for over 27 years.

 

As a friend to many, I have seen her selflessly drop everything to rush to help someone who needs her in their most vulnerable and heartbreaking times. She has been with several people in their last days and moments on earth, holding their hand, comforting and loving them. Some recently questioned her priorities even when they knew where she was and what she was doing. In critical times in life where there are no “mulligans” or “do overs”, I would say she was exactly where she needed to be.

 

We have critics in our community that seem to enjoy making sure that every time we have a success they are there with the "yeah but, you need to do better here, here and here". Constantly pointing out every area that needs improving does not honor the work that has been done and the success we are experiencing. It also leaves staff feeling defeated and pessimistic as though it will never be good enough for the critics. Would you dismiss your kid's A on their test by pointing out where they didn't do as well in other areas or would you, at least for that moment, allow them to celebrate a job well done? She knows we don't build a great district by tearing people down. Does Marci ever raise issues or make suggestions to the administration? Absolutely! She just chooses to do it one on one, in a respectful, meaningful way instead of beating them up in a public meeting in front of the press and the audience.

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Marci Busby has been volunteering and working hard for our Snoqualmie Valley kids for more than half her life…that’s over 27 years. She has stepped up in leadership positions many times throughout the years and her outstanding work spans the entire Valley not only in our schools but also in organizations like Encompass where she helped raise the money for the main building and the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network where she served as President for 3 years (volunteered for 10) , as Chair of Voters for Excellence working hard to pass school levies and bonds and for the last 12 years on the Snoqualmie Valley District School Board where she served as President for two years.

Marci Busby has served us well on the Snoqualmie Valley School Board and also for decades in other areas that benefit our students and community. She has always been and continues to be ALL about the Kids.

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I am proud to cast my vote for Marci Busby on Nov. 7th !

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Caroline Loudenback – Past SVSD Board Member 2008-2011  North Bend resident for 25 years

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You can learn more about Marci Busby at www.busbyforkids.com

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By Bev Jorgensen

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"To the editor,
Election time is here again ! A time for our voices to be heard. Marci Busby is on our ballot for school board again . I support Marci! She has served our school district for 12 years . She has proven to be an advocate for all of our students in the system regardless of the learning skill. As our population grows so does the diversity of our student population . I admire Marci for being proactive for all the necessary programs to make our district successful.

I have had the privilege of knowing Marci outside the role of school board and appreciate her passion and compassion for our community..

I encourage you to open your ballot and vote - make your voice count and vote for Marci !

Bev Jorgensen"

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Thank you Bev for your nice letter! I appreciate you so much and am honored to have your support!

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By Liz Piekarczyk

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"As ballots arrive this week, I would strongly urge you to vote to retain Marci Busby for School Board.
At election time, questions always arise about the incumbents. Allegations are made about what has happened over the past term, and whether some decisions were in the best interests of taxpayers. Over the past 13 years, I have seen SVSD undertake steady, data-based improvement. We are consistently recognized for sound financial management and our students’ test scores, which are difficult to assess because of the many different tests that have been used, nevertheless are on an upward trend. I see no cause for concern in the current composition of the School Board.

Marci has served Snoqualmie Valley Schools as a School Board member since 2006. My family moved to the Valley in 2004. Since then, four of my five children have graduated from Mount Si High School. The three oldest have graduated from college and have good jobs in the legal and business professions. The fourth will graduate from the University of Washington this spring. My youngest is a junior at MSHS.

During Marci’s tenure on the Board, I have seen a steady improvement in the educational experience available in the Snoqualmie Valley School District. I have a background in Education and have served locally in various positions in the PTSA, including stints as President at MSHS and Council. I have attended many school board meetings and followed many issues. Marci is one of the few Board members who truly understands ALL the students in the Valley and recognizes that not every student will have or needs the same experience. Rather, each student needs to be given the tools to do as well as they can on the path they are on. Marci always asks the questions that remind the Board of the students who might otherwise be overlooked. She is truly a voice for all of our students.

Marci has lived in the Valley since 1983, and has volunteered with our students for 27 years, Marci exhibits the dedication that has helped make our school district what it is today—which is a huge improvement over where it was 13 years ago. Her integrity is beyond reproach, and her work ethic is admirable. She has the experience and the approachability that instills trust in those who work with her.

I’m voting to re-elect Marci Busby. Please join me. "

 

Liz Piekarczyk
Snoqualmie

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Thank you so much Liz for the kind words and your support!

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By Nancy Baker

It is probably a matter of preference but authenticity – with all of its vulnerability and untidiness around the edges – emits great strength to me and catches my eye. Camera ready policy and programs du jour that aim appeal to the masses need to be scrutinized and refined.  Marci Busby does just that in policy making. She is as authentic as they get and that is why her courageous service should continue for our school district.

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Marci doesn’t run a PR campaign on FB following each board of directors meeting to document her contributions: she is humble, identifies herself as part of a team, she works to get the job done. There are a thousand things I can say to support Marci but will allow her website to do that. To explain why I support Marci it is best to lean into what will be three arguments against her – three controversial votes she made. She owns them. However, read this … see what it means to be a thoughtful team-playing leader.

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The three votes were against our most recent bond and math pathways and then for the Freshman Campus. None were popular in the FB popcorn gallery – however they were well thought through and in the end, she rolled up her sleeves and without questions supported the passed policies. Marci has great confidence in the abilities of our administration to land on its feet and examining her reasons perhaps you too can see that her hesitation was valid and that she was prepared to support whatever was passed.

Bond

Marci read a heart-felt letter to the board before her no vote on our most recent bond. It wasn’t about conspiracy or errors it was about people. She didn’t take it lightly at all. Here were her main points in her note and board conversation mixed in with what has happened since:

1. The financial burden would be too big. As a single mom of three, Marci reminded the other board members (who each had two parent households and seemingly generous incomes) what many of the faces of the valley look like. Since the bond, property taxes have increased for individuals dramatically. When the bond passed our school based property tax rate was about $3.80/ $1000 and now is just over $5/ $1000. With a 17% increase in property value – those on a fixed income have been nailed with an increase in rate and value. Marci brought that up, she feared it for herself. But it is not just the taxing of the individual – they also have impacted our community resources – perhaps limiting other civic body’s fiscal stretch. Mayor Matt Larson mentioned in a recent re-election piece in a local blog  that “Our wildly successful Community Center is busting at the seams. However, in light of last year’s historic school bond tax increase, I will explore all opportunities to fund an expansion that minimizes requests for additional taxes.” Listen to the the discussion of levies and local taxes right now, our bills for our buildings will impede our ability to collect money for instruction. Are schools worth investing in? Of course, the cost just needs to be weighed across an entire community and we need to be aware of its impact.

2. The plan has holes. One hole, mentioned that evening in questions from the community was: what about parking both during and after the building? Some dismissed this in the debate as no big deal – ask kids not to drive. However, Marci knew the law and reach of the board. She knew that not having this nailed down would come at a cost. After the passage it was clear, we needed more parking than in the preliminary drawings. The cost was in land taken by our district to fulfill voter wishes. The cost was the destruction of many families’ homes. Some greeted this with open arms, some were heartbroken. As our family deals with the issue of eminent domain – I know it is difficult. Marci, as part of the board, did what the voters wanted and residents were displaced.

3. There are too many unknowns in the budget. Building in a floodplain with shifting regulations and a growing real estate market was a calculated risk. The budget for the bond was very tight and streamlined. Logic prevailed within the board when many asked them to roll potential matching funds into the budget.  While Marci was opposed to the overall cost of the project, she also had enough experience to understand that a five year project that wasn’t fully designed might have changes to it, and the matching dollars needed to be reserved to allow the district to be able to deliver the project as presented to the community.  This is a good example of not just shutting herself out of the conversation when she had an opposing view but offering valuable insight and perspective towards a solution that she didn’t prefer. In the end the board, earmarked about $20 million of potential matching funds to the side for unforeseen expenses. The project is a few years out from being finished and  the majority of those earmarked funds have already been utilized. Thank heaven they gave themselves some cushion. Hopefully, there are limited surprises remaining.

4. The high school is not going to be big enough during or after construction. This is a hard one because our norms and reality are shifting and there are quite a few factors. I will just start with, I don’t think anyone could predict in 2014 that roughly 50% of our juniors and seniors would be leaving for Running Start this year. Many students – yes – but not like that. I never heard it in the predictions. Why they are leaving is a hodge podge of reasons – construction is one, maybe not top but on the list. Is this a temporary thing, is this a good social, emotional and educational shift? It is a great option for saving money. So right now the FTE (enrollment) for high school is about 1635 and was predicted to be 1980 in the bond planning numbers – with Running Start > kids eligible to be Juniors and Seniors is about right in prediction … for now. With a gorgeous state-of-the-art building offering new services and opportunity what if we build it they will come ….. will students getting education in other capacities be attracted to what we will be able to deliver?  Can we adjust if the volume of students going to Bellevue College to return?  Do we have a place for them?

5. Long term planning in a growing community should be based on high forecast not medium. It was like hitting your head on a brick wall listening to the statisticians be grilled about minutia in their numbers the night the bond was passed by the board to go to ballot. Again logic prevailed to trust the professionals but the board went with medium growth projections in a growing community. That night it was predicted that we would have about 3169 students in K-5 (knowing full time K was coming it already). We have 3408. We were looking at 1570 students and have about 1650 in middle schools.  That is 300+ students more than predicted going up through the grades. Do the math on the high school is one thing …. but even bringing back Snoqualmie Middle School we need to have another discussion about enough room for our younger students over the long term. Marci knew that the 2015 bond would not be the last facilities need we had and the total cost weighed on her heavily. Marci’s voice was not heard on this on keeping things flexible and having options.

6. Do not put the elementary and high school on the same ballot. It is too big of a risk to lose the elementary.  I respect Marci’s desire not to jeopardize the elementary’s immediate need. That gamble for the board and the bond worked out. But note – Marci’s intention was to make sure that we weren’t risking anything for our most vulnerable learners.

She had a few other concerns … but when broken down, this wasn’t a person not supporting growth, learning, or a vengeance vote – it was really thought out, wise, and in the end very reasonable. And yet, this team player is making sure every wish of the voters still takes place without one ounce of an I told you so. (I do that – but not her)

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Math Pathways

Don’t let anyone tell you Marci is against high standards and rigor. She voted against the last version of math pathways, absolutely. But her reason was pretty darn good, in my view. Here is a a wee bit of perspective.

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Math teachers, as representatives from each grade and building, came together as a committee to create Math Pathways for our district. They met, discussed best practices and our district culture, and created a plan. The plan was presented in public to the board who approved its implementation. As a new policy it would need to be tried and tested. In trying it, many parents became quite incensed about placement benchmarks . Voices in the community came forward very forcefully with a counter plan. Those two plans came together at a board/administrative level and were presented for vote. Marci thought the teachers should have one more look at it before the board voted. They were the ones who needed to live with it. They created it and should be consulted before the board pushed the teacher’s version to the side. Marci knows that she works for the entire district – teachers also. They too are part of her team and she will not take credit for their hard work nor throw them to the curb.  And again – vote passed and Marci went on to make sure it was implemented. Definition of integrity.

 

Freshman Campus

Marci believes that educational goals should drive facilities decisions. The Freshman Campus had many goals, two were increasing access to STEM for all students and another increasing our graduation rate. Both have been accomplished,in part, due to the educational policies wrapped up in the FC. On the facilities side of goals –  Mount Si needed room, especially if there was ever going be a bond passed to rebuild it. Better to have an educational program set up and transition accomplished previously than a Band-aid pull type implementation. Having a bond tied to the closing of a middle school would probably been tougher to get support for than the one we just passed. Snoqualmie Middle School still most likely would have closed for years to accommodate for lost space during reconstruction of Mount Si.  That was ALWAYS part of the transparent public discussion about going forward with annexing SMS. That was a painful loss for our community, but going forward then was a win for educational and facilities goals that supported the vision and research of the administration.

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All of these votes might be counter to online banter and be publicly shamed.  I have written this to lean into criticism and give context not afforded to Facebook pages that have targeted audiences and limited voices.  Marci’s choices were authentic. She has not been a rubber stamper. Not popular, perhaps – but that isn’t her job – she was a calm voice following logic and procedure in the face of great vulnerability.  But she wouldn’t ask for praise for doing her job like when, in line with her long history of levy support, she voted for the levy which reduced class sizes and helped increase teachers’ pay when other board members abstained from supporting it.  Marci has spent that past 12 years working on addressing a rapidly growing community while developing thoughtful plans and efforts balanced by prudent uses of resources. This includes board and administrative success in collective bargaining, class size reduction, AVID implementation, instructional coaches, foreign language introduction into our middle schools to name a few.

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Not a tag line for a civic race, but Marci is a friend and is incredibly empathetic. She is the caretaker for her family and friends. Marci has been at this for years. She has spent over half of her life serving the children of our community and district. With new legislative changes coming, her experience is more valuable than ever to work on adjustments as well as solutions that are already in process such as: the seven period day in the high school; changes in school start times; as well as teacher training, development and retention.  Her institutional knowledge of education and ability to tell the story of our vast community from experience are great assets to a board. Our kids (my kids) have been lucky to have her looking out for them and I hope we can continue to have her influence and voice in our public discussion of education.

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For more information: http://www.busbyforkids.com/