3 Questions with Wil Fuentes- Guest Avery Eterno

Brought to you by the 18th Legislative District with your host Wil Fuentes and our special guest Prairie High School Graduate Avery Eterno who  talks about the vital importance of passing the Battle Ground School District’s Levy. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Three Questions, sponsored by the 18th Legislative District, Washington State Democrats. I'm your host, Will Fuentes. My guest today is a student from Battleground School District who is here to talk about the levy, which has failed the last three times and is essential to continue operations and educational programs for the Battleground School District. Avery, welcome to Three Questions with Will. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:22

I'm good, how are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I am doing great. Welcome to the show. I'm really excited to have you here. Um, you're here because we're here to talk about a specific topic. But before we get into that, tell me a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

My name is Avery Rutneau. I graduated from Prairie this year in the class of 2026.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Well, congratulations on your uh graduation.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Yeah, and so and you're heading off to college soon, correct?

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Yep, I will be staying here and doing an EMT course in the fall, and then in the spring I'll be attending Boise State.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Awesome. Now tell our audience members why you're here.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

We're here to talk about the levy.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Well, let's get into it. Question number one. So, Avery, tell me what is a school levy and why do you think schools ask voters to approve one?

SPEAKER_01 0:59

A school levy is the district asking the voters and taxpayers to give extra funding for the schools, and they ask to vote yes because the money from the state isn't necessarily enough for our day-to-day needs.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

And what are some of the uh programs that a school levy may fund?

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Um they'll fund things such as sports, clubs, activities, security, nurses, counseling, everything you'll see in a school pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

A lot of uh important uh programs, counseling sports, as you mentioned. Now, this isn't the very first time that your school district is asking voters to approve a school levy. When was the first time?

SPEAKER_01 1:34

I think three years ago.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Three years ago, yeah, yeah. Uh and but it's a lot less now than what it was uh several years ago, correct? So I understand that you know you're probably trying to they're they're they're trying to find a middle ground. Yeah. Yeah, let's figure out how you know voters can support a school levy to continue funding uh some of the important programs that your district funds. Question number two. When people vote on a school levy, uh they're really deciding what kind of educational experience they want students to have. What do you think makes a great school?

SPEAKER_01 2:03

I think what makes a great school is the overall like cohesion of the school. We have great people at Prairie, like there's not one different place I'd want to be at. Like, we have an SRO who's been here the last two years, and she was nothing but great. Not only did she make us feel safe, she had so many good connections with kids. We have so many fun classes we take, prairie preschool, but then there's also AP classes which are pushing ourselves for our future in sports. I had the best experience, met so many people playing volleyball, and I would I don't regret anything because I had such a great time.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

So, in all these programs you just mentioned, whether it's AP courses, uh extracurricular activities like volleyball uh and SROs are funded by school levies. They are. Yeah, it's my understanding that 20% of a school's budget comes from school levy, right? Yeah, uh, and they're designed to fund the type of programs that you and other students take advantage of. Are there any other other programs uh that you've been involved in school uh that might have been funded by a school levy?

SPEAKER_01 3:03

I was heavily involved in ASB. I was um the spirit director my senior year of ASB. Oh no. And that's heavily funded.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Wow. Awesome. Can you do a spirit cheer, right?

unknown 3:13

No.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Great. Well let's let's get into that next question. Question number three. Avery, I need to know why community members need to care about this. So my last question to you is if you had one minute to explain to a voter why this levy matters, what would you say?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

If I had one minute, I would go in depth of the importance of the future. I mean, how we the opportunities we have now, being social, getting to do different things, getting the actual experience is the future. And for people like our SRO and our different classes we get to experience that will lead into what we want to do in our future.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Yeah. Now, really quick, uh, really valid points by the way, but let me ask you this before we go on what is an SRO for audience members?

SPEAKER_01 4:02

It's a security resource officer.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

And what do they do?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Um, we have a deputy on campus, and she really is there just to keep us safe, but really she does so much more than just that.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

That's pretty incredible. Do all schools have that? Are you familiar with that?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Um, yes, yes, I'm pretty sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Okay, great. Now you also mentioned, you know, that this is um uh you know a valuable opportunity to invest in your future and that of your peers, right? Through programs and extracurricular activities, um, they build a lot of things like confidence and teamwork. Uh, how has that improved your experience in high school?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

I think it's really improved my high school experience because that's what kept me going to school and wanting to be at school was all the extra stuff other than just our core classes that everyone takes. And this is why I had the love for the school, and it kept me going to school and keeping my love for that.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

That's incredible. That sounds like uh a much better school than I went to in California. So you thank you for being here, Avery. Uh, I've really enjoyed having you on the show, uh learning about levees, and we hope that Battleground uh community members support it. Thank you. Because it is key to investing your future and that of your peers. Thank you, folks. That is our show for today. Don't forget to hit like, subscribe, leave a comment, and hit the notification bell. We will see you next time.