All information is drawn from Issaquah School District budget documents, OSPI Report-Card data, official board-meeting minutes, and the district’s own Speak-Up surveys. You can find this information on the home page - https://www.votechinmay.org/#didyouknow

Detail:

1. Washington state report card (includes YoY data)

2. Official ISD surveys (e.g. the speakup survey), or budget documents (shared with me by the ISD CFO, for instance). www.isd411.org/about-us/reports-and-surveys/national-speak-up-survey, www.isd411.org/about-us/departments/finance, ISD enrollment forecast to board, 3/13/25, slide 7

3. Issaquah High School Survey (qualtrics)

4. OSPI data, or other official data sets at state or federal level, e.g Organization and Financing Of Washington’s Public Schools. November 2020, T.J. Kelly CFO [OSPI]

5. Independent reports, e.g. Schooldigger reports: https://www.schooldigger.com/go/WA/schools/0375000574/school.aspx#:~:text=10th%20Grade%20English%20Language%20Arts,1

6. Information shared by ISD insiders - that is not available easily to the public. These sources are confidential.

7. News reports.

8. Information collected by our door-to-door campaign

Numbers are derived with simple math. For example, 74.2 % → 63.9 % is a 10.3-point decline (OSPI Report Card). Per student costs can be calculated from the budget table showing “$370.55 M ÷ 19,000 FTE = $19.5 k.”

A lot of the data on the ISD website is non-transparent and deliberately hides unfavorable facts. If you see any discrepancy in the data, please contact votechinmay@gmail.com and we will fix it as quickly as possible.

Simply put, outcomes are falling and spending is going up in the last five years. See votechinmay.org#didyouknow for details. This has created a 'trust deficit.'

Bond measures failed twice—in 2024 and 2025—despite strong outreach efforts. After visiting more than 2000 households of varied ages, backgrounds, and political views, I’ve heard a consistent concern: residents want accountability for how their tax dollars are used and a focus on safety and basic education.

Roughly one in three families now opt for homeschooling or private school, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, many citing negative experiences. Many spend thousands of dollars each year or rearrange work schedules to teach at home. When these parents learn that the district spends approximately $20,000 per student annually (more than the University of Washington's in-state tuition), they naturally ask why public school quality does not better reflect that investment. When they see that we spend $80 million on special needs programs but suspend special needs students at twice the average rate, questions grow. It doesn't help that we allocate only 3% of the budget to vocational training, which is critical for preparing students for the real world while AI is gobbling up desk jobs, while we spend 13% on district bureaucracy.

Students share similar frustrations. According to recent district surveys, two out of three middle schoolers feel that their classrooms do not bring out their best. Approximately 30-40% of high schoolers report in district surveys that they are afraid to speak their minds in the classroom. They don't trust their teachers and administrators. I'd like to see more parents enroll their children in public schools, and I'd like to see more voters support bonds and levies, but this is not possible until we get our act together and regain the community's trust.

Washington is among the top states in per-student spending, but its overall K-12 education system ranks in the bottom half of states. A report from the Washington State House Republicans indicates that the state spends $18,944 per student. In Issaquah School District, the budget shows a similar number - a budget of $400 million, and just below 20,000 students - 400M/20K = 20K/student.

In spite of this spending, the state ranks 23rd in the overall school system. A report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicates that Washington is in the bottom half of states for education and economic well-being. On the positive side, Washington is recognized for teacher salaries, ranking second for starting salaries and fourth for average salaries.

National Rankings For Washington State

2nd Starting teacher salary

4th Average teacher salary

14th ACT scores

15th Government spending

23rd Overall school system

28th SAT scores

35th High school graduation rate

48th College-going rate

Sources: NEA Educator Pay Data 2024, NEA 2024 Rankings and Estimates Report, On To College 2024 Average SAT/ACT Test Score by State, WalletHub 2025 States with the Best School Systems, U.S. News & World Report 2024 Rankings, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, 2021