The Looming Crisis in Snohomish Schools
A blunt warning from the school board highlights the fragility of local education funding in 1878.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Editor Northern Star: Dear Sir: I wish to call the attention of the people of School District No. 1 (through the columns of the Star) to the fact that the school fund of this district is exhausted, and that at the close of the present term of school we will be in debt for the same. Our annual school meeting will be held on the last Saturday in November next, at which time I would request the attendance of all who are interested in the maintenance of the school. P.S. This is a matter of importance—school or no school, don't forget it. W. H. Ward, Director.
“School or no school, don't forget it.”
Education funding has been a recurring point of contention in Snohomish for nearly 150 years. This 1878 plea for community involvement in school budget deficits mirrors the contemporary strain on school levies that still dominates local civic discourse in Washington State.
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