<BODY><P>In one week, patrons of the Moscow School District will vote about the proposed increase to our supplemental levy. Please lend your support to helping the levy pass. - Susan Mahoney</P>
<P>We need immediate staff and parent help in the following areas:</P>
<P><STRONG>Letters to the Editor:</STRONG> We need as many people as possible to write positive letters to the editor in support of increasing school funding, especially after last night's negative opinion editorial from Dale Courtney. All letters are due tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon by 5:00 PM. They can be emailed in plain text format directly to <A href="mailto:letters@dnews.com">letters@dnews.com</A> and must be under 300 words including the tile. Take some time out this evening to write a letter if you haven't already done so.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG>Some ideas for letters to the editor supporting school funding:</STRONG></P>
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<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Enrollment decline doesn’t equate to staff reductions because it doesn’t happen all in one grade level. You can’t eliminate a teacher when enrollment declines by 20 students because that decline isn’t all in one class, it’s spread out across 13 grade levels.</LI>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Use the following quote and write a piece to go with it: “If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.” <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">~Donald D. Quinn</I><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></LI>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Moscow</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>School District</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> has some of the highest per pupil expenditures in the state and also consistently scores higher than the rest of the state on the standardized ISAT and IRI tests. For reference on how <st1:City><st1:place>Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> students compare to the rest of the state look at the following url: <A href="http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/Test%20Scores/Test%20Scores.htm"><FONT color=#800080>http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/Test%20Scores/Test%20Scores.htm</FONT></A></LI>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">The average home owner in <st1:City><st1:place>Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> will pay a tax increase of around $15 per month, that’s less than one night of pizza for dinner or one evening at the movies. It comes out to an increase for the average household of 7 ½ cents per student per year. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Pretty cheap investment for providing quality education to over 2,400 local youth. </LI>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Take a look at the information packet put out by the school district and pick something from there to write about. url: <A href="http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/Board_of_Trustees/VoterLevyInfo.pdf"><FONT color=#800080>http://www.sd281.k12.id.us/Board_of_Trustees/VoterLevyInfo.pdf</FONT></A></LI>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">If you want to enjoy the qualities of a community like <st1:City><st1:place>Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>, you need to plan to pay for it with your taxes. If you don’t want to pay taxes, move to some podunk town in the middle of nowhere that has lower taxes and a lower standard of living.</LI></UL>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><STRONG>Neighborhood Campaigning: </STRONG>Be a part of the Support Moscow Schools Walking Team!<BR><BR>Would you like to walk around your neighborhood, get some exercise and <BR>help support Moscow Schools? We are in need of people to walk around <BR>and deliver brochures with information about the March 27 School Levy. <BR>You just put brochures in doors or doorways; you don't have to ring <BR>doorbells or try to talk to people (unless you want to). It should take <BR>about an hour of your time or less. The dates we will be needing people <BR>to deliver will be March 22-25 (Thursday - Sunday), and you can pick a <BR>time convenient for you. High school students or groups would also be <BR>very welcome volunteers. We need to be done by Sunday, March 25. If <BR>you <BR>
can help, please contact Diane Prorak, 882-3959 or <SPAN id=lw_1174427806_0 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">dianep8@verizon.net</SPAN> <BR>We will give you brochures and an area to deliver to. This effort is <BR>organized by the parent-organized group, Support Moscow Schools.<BR></P>
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