As Ralph Nichols wrote in his column on Feb. 28, "We need good public schools. We need to pay for them." Mr. Nichols also mentioned the need to fix problems to make the system work.

The good news is, we don't have to wait on solutions from Olympia, or Washington, D.C., to make things better, we can do so at a much more local level.

Locally, the Highline School District has been working on a number of innovative approaches to making our schools work better.

Also, there are many opportunities for citizens and parents to get involved. For example, at my son's elementary school, some parents and I have created an after-school Chinese language program. But, if there's one thing I've learned from my volunteer work on the Chinese program, it is that there's no substitute for having professionals who can focus full-time on education. Volunteers can only do so much.

In Washington, we have set high education standards, and we expect all students to meet them to earn a diploma. We expect schools to educate students with physical, behavioral, and cognitive disabilities, as well as children who are not native speakers of English.

On March 13, we have the opportunity to renew our local funding by supporting professionals who are dedicated to our children. This funding is critical-it pays for teachers, bus drivers, textbooks and other essentials that help children learn.

Please vote yes on March 13 to continue our commitment to our community and our children.

Stuart Jenner

Normandy Park