Our Member: Erin Ashley

My name is Erin Ashley and I am a School Secretary.
Like a lot of you, I have one of those SAVE the CHANGE accounts.
You know the kind....for every purchase I make with my debit card, my bank rounds up to the nearest dollar and puts that change into a saving account for me.
Well, you can imagine my surprise and delight when that "spare change" added up to $300 dollars and 82 cents last year. This is truly a windfall for my family of four, because I am the only wage earner, and I don't make a living wage as a Lake Washington School District employee.

Just like my SAVE the CHANGE account, Lake Washington School District found an UNEXPECTED $4 million dollars at the end of the last school year. That's $4 million dollars over and above the $13 million in reserve funds that were planned for in the budget. The District now has $17 million in their ending fund balance. This significant reserve fund is way over the 5% required contingency for emergencies.

And then there's that SPARE CHANGE...that $4 million dollars
that no one expected.
What will the district do with that money, I wonder?
Where are the district's priorities?
I would like to suggest that this District take care of its people first...before budget allocations for capital projects for instance. But wait....some salaries HAVE been taken care of, haven't they?
ADMINISTRATION has received significant wage increases, more than the average secretary makes in a year!

Meanwhile, YOUR school secretaries and office managers, your accounting staff and bookkeepers, are all bargaining in good faith....demanding to be shown that WE are valued and respected. Emails are sent all the time telling us how "APPRECIATED" we are. Well, that's beginning to feel like lip service! A portion of the District's "SPARE CHANGE" would show your Educational Support Personnel that we are respected, that we ARE essential, and that we ARE truly part of the school district team.
So, if NOT for your qualified and committed support staff,
WHAT ARE YOU SAVING THE CHANGE FOR?
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