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The Federal Way School District and the U.S. Department of Education have entered into an agreement after an allegation was filed regarding the district not offering equal sports opportunities for female high school students.

The complaint, which was formally accepted by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), basically said the school district is not in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally-funded education programs and activities, including athletics.

"We are taking this seriously, whether there is a complaint or not," said Rick Serns, the school district's Title IX officer and director of employment services. "We've offered the same amount of sports for a number of years. We just don't have the participation levels up as high as some people would like."

In a 10-page letter dated April 13, Gary D. Jackson, the director of Seattle's Office for Civil Rights, informs the anonymous complainant that the Federal Way School District will address the allegation. The letter was also signed by Federal Way Superintendent Robert Neu.

"The district has agreed to take the actions set forth in the (agreement), which, when fully implemented, will resolve the issue raised by your complaint," Jackson wrote. "(OCR) will monitor the district's implementation of the agreement and notify you when the provisions of the agreement have been implemented."

The agreement, which does not constitute an admission of any violation of Title IX by the district, calls for Federal Way to provide OCR with data about participation numbers throughout the next 10 months. If the OCR is not satisfied with the results, it could ask the district to offer more female teams in sports currently offered at the schools, create new girls-only sports or establish intramural or club sports for females.

According to Serns, Federal Way wasn't the only school district in the state to receive the complaint. He said the same letter was sent to more than 20 different districts in Washington. Those districts are also addressing the Title IX complaint.

"It's nothing that was specifically targeting Federal Way," Serns said. "It's just something that somebody wants to make sure the district pays attention to."

The letter from OCR asks the district to provide data on how many boys and girls are signed up in each athletic program, how many different sports the district offers and what other sport programs are available in the community.

"We are currently in the process of filing reports," Serns said. "We feel like we've consistently done this and feel like we will continue in the future. We are doing an interest survey to see if there's any way we can tweak things."

Federal Way statistics

For the 2010-11 school year, Federal Way's school population is made up of 51.4 percent boys and 48.6 percent girls, according to the school district's most recent numbers.

In contrast, the percentage of students participating in athletics is 40.6 female and 59.4 percent male at the four Federal Way high schools. Title IX essentially states that the gender percentages of the overall student population should match the percentage of students participating in athletics.

The largest gender differential comes at Thomas Jefferson, where only 39.6 of the athletes are girls. The smallest is at Decatur, where 41.6 of the sports participants are female.

"Until they match the ratio of enrollment, there will be room for people to question," Serns said.

All four Federal Way high schools offer 10 boys sports (football, golf, cross country, tennis, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, soccer and track) and 10 girls-only sports (volleyball, soccer, golf, swimming, cross country, basketball, gymnastics, fastpitch, tennis and track). All four schools also offer wrestling for interested girls.

"Boys participate more in athletics, even though we offer the same amount of sports," Serns said. "The complaint doesn't allege that there is any failure in the facilities, teams, fields or practice space. It just says we haven't done enough to get more girls to participate."

Serns said the Federal Way School District is conducting surveys that ask girls at the high schools why they don't participate in athletics at as high of a level as their male counterparts.

"We want to encourage participation," he said. "The purpose of the survey is to analyze what the interest areas are."

This article was originally published in the Federal Way Mirror on April 19, 2011.

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Want to be a millionaire? Don't overspend and use debt wisely.

We all may not be millionaires but there are plenty of financial and life-planning secrets we can learn from the well-heeled.

Most people know that wealth in the U.S. is in the hands of a small percentage of the total population. And, today, most of those folks with a net worth of $1 million or more have earned it themselves.

They're mostly entrepreneurs who create everything from high-speed networks to garbage haulers. They dig ditches and build houses and grow corn and make jewelry. They deal stamps or coins or artwork and control pests and cut lawns. They also cure people and give them new teeth. Others will defend their neighbors or even feed them.

And they're not big spenders. In fact, most of those with big bucks live well under their means -- think about Warren Buffett still living in that modest Omaha home -- and they put their money instead toward investments that help them stockpile more wealth.

"Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend," according to Thomas Stanley and William Danko, the authors of the seminal tome on America's wealthy "The Millionaire Next Door," first published in 1996.

"It is seldom luck or inheritance or advanced degrees or even intelligence that enables people to amass fortunes," the authors wrote. "Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and, most of all, self discipline."

Wealth is defined in many ways, though it's generally determined as the value of everything you own minus debts. But there's a difference between marketable assets -- things you own that could be liquidated rather quickly, like stocks, bonds, real estate -- and possessions like cars, clothing and household items that you use regularly and aren't likely to sell.

Income alone does not make one rich. It helps, of course, to build wealth, but the financially independent look to their salaries as a means to an end, which is that pile of cash.

"The wealthy don't spend their wealth on discretionary purchases," said Pam Danziger, founder of Unity Marketing, a consumer market-research firm specializing in luxury goods and experiences. "They get rich by maximizing the value of their investments."

That doesn't mean they don't pay big bucks for pretty shoes or outfits, but that most choose those items carefully and shop for value and quality. "They truly evaluate the purchase as an investment, not an expense," Danziger said.

What they do though is diversify those investments, which gives them more flexibility to ride out difficult times. "The wealthiest clients have very, very diversified portfolios that go way beyond just stocks and bonds into hedge funds, currencies, commodities and emerging markets," said Leslie Lassiter, managing director of the JPMorgan Private Wealth Management.

"There are many, many mutual funds out there that will allow you to get exposure to those types of asset classes," Lassiter said.

Among the biggest differences between those flush with cash and those wishing they were is in how they pay for things. Millionaires tend to use cash for most of their purchases, including cars, homes and boats.

For the average wage earner, of course, that's not always an option but it still holds this lesson: Don't look to debt to fund your lifestyle.

Most wealthy people use debt for investment purposes and are careful not to over-leverage themselves. "A prudent use of debt is an appropriate thing for anyone," Lassiter said.

They also plan very well and spend a lot of time at it. Many are compulsive savers and investors who often say the journey to riches was far more fun than the reaching the goal.

And they're patient, willing to invest in the long term and wait it out. "They stick with their investments and are more likely to have a financial plan," said Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of National Financial, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments.

Many take the long-term approach to investing because they're working at being financial independent. When they retire, for example, many will know exactly how much they need to live on, to give away and to leave as a legacy.

"The best ones really understand how much liquidity they need to cover their expenses and make sure they have that much cash on hand," Lassiter said. "That's something the average person should do as well."

At the same time, she said most are very careful about leveraging debt. "The wealthy tend to balance between the two," she said.

Recommendations for accumulating wealth:

Live below your means: People with high incomes who spend all that money are not rich; they're just stupid.

Plan: That means plan for today, tomorrow and 30 years after retirement. Take time doing it too and spend time monitoring it every day. Use budgets and stick to them.

Diversify: As Lassiter said, look for mutual funds that allow you exposure to asset classes that aren't related to each other.

Reduce use of credit and turn to cash: It's easier, of course, for a prosperous person to pay for a house in cash than it might be for most folks, but credit-card debt for luxury purchases or extravagant vacations will never pave a road to riches.

Have access to cash: While the rich keep much of their wealth invested, they can get cash when they need it. "Have some kind of line of credit available, like a HELOC (home-equity line of credit) that you never use," Lassiter said. "It's a safety valve." She suggests a year's worth of cash to cover expenses; Danziger thinks three years worth is a better bet.

Spread cash around: When the wealthy pulled money out of the equities markets two and three years ago, they opened a bevy of bank accounts, all guaranteed up to $250,000 of deposits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Bring your children into the mix, and remember the importance of estate planning: The affluent can go to great lengths to teach their children about money and how to manage it -- something every family should do. Though talking about money with children consistently ranks as one of the most dreaded conversations, it's important that your heirs know where all the bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes are -- even that their names are on them, too -- who the attorney is, where the will and trusts are filed.

 

To put an automotive spin on an old axiom, 40 really is the new 30—in miles per gallon. What’s particularly remarkable is that this impressive highway-mileage figure is increasingly being achieved not only by hybrids and other alt-fuel cars—which post their best numbers in the city—but by regular gasoline-powered vehicles with relatively low price tags.

A look at eleven current and forthcoming cars that deliver 40 mpg highway reveals MSRPs ranging from $12,490 (for a two-door Smart car) to around $20,000 (for a four-door Ford Focus SE). With global turmoil continuing to push pump prices higher, it’s clear manufacturers understand they can boost sales by focusing on a statistic that for most of the past few decades was a non-issue for the American automotive consumer. In fact, Ford recently started running ads that specifically boast about reaching the 40 mpg mark.

“Even five years ago, consumers wanted horsepower and driving dynamics, but now we have rising gas prices,” says Tracy Handler, senior analyst at IHS Automotive. “In the end, even more than CAFE standards (federally mandated fuel economy targets) gas prices really drive what companies are doing now, because of what concerns their customers. So they’ve set 40 (mpg) as a target, mainly for advertising reasons, and are achieving it with innovations ranging from air-flow louvers with sensors to simply cleaning up the underbody for better aerodynamics.”

Here’s a quick look at models that deliver 40 mpg on the highway:

 

2011 Ford Fiesta SE Sedan, 40/29 highway/city mpg (6-speed automatic transmission), $16,290: Ford commercials may boast about the Fiesta's 40 mpg, but you'll only see that kind of savings if you spring for the optional automatic transmission ($1,095), which uses an extra gear ratio to eke another 3 mpg out of the manual version's 37 mpg highway figure. This compact sedan is a bit short on cargo room, but offers quality interior appointments along with its impressive mileage. A list of high-tech options is available, but remember that the more weight you add, the worse the fuel economy.

 

2011 Ford Fiesta SE hatchback, 40/29, $17,300: For anyone thinking about stowing a bike or other athletic gear into the rear of your Fiesta, the hatchback is the way to go. What you give up in terms of the formal stance of a sedan you gain with regard to overall versatility.

 

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco (manual transmission), 42/28, $18,175: The Cruze takes the same 1.4-liter engine stuffed inside its Volt cousin but in this guise integrates this engine’s turbocharger housing into the exhaust manifold, thus reducing weight. Also on board are electrically controlled air louvers that adjust according to the car’s aerodynamic needs.

 

2011 Hyundai Elantra, 40/29, $14,830 base MSRP: Helping this automaker leave its once ho-hum reputation in the dust is the Elantra, offering interesting looks, a quality (and quiet) cabin and a range of creature comfort options at a base price that’s one of the lowest around for a sedan.

 

2011 Smart ForTwo, 41/33, $12,490: This European import (and staple of cramped Old World capitals) belongs in the city, where it fits in tight parking spaces and can literally be parked with its rear to the curb. Concerns include the limited cargo space, and the thought of what might happen if you're unlucky enough to get T-boned by a 6,000-pound SUV.

 

2012 Ford Focus SE Sedan, 40/28, $18,790: Equipped with the optional SFE (Super Fuel Economy) package, which includes low rolling-resistance tires and Ford's six-speed automatic transmission, the redesigned Focus looks like the well put-together big brother to the Fiesta. It's a handsome sedan with respectable build quality that comes packed with features such as anti-lock brakes, six airbags, and remote keyless entry.

 

2012 Honda Civic HF, 41/unavailable, spring: Honda’s entry into the 40 mpg arena comes in the form of this competent if plain sedan, packing a 1.8-liter engine good for 140 hp. It also shares its aerodynamic exterior design with Honda’s current Civic Hybrid.

 

2012 Hyundai Accent, 40/-, spring: Hyundai’s budget-conscious model shares the same swoopy styling as its Elantra and Sonata cousins, though in a slightly more compact body. But thanks to a small (3-inch) growth spurt, it provides commendable cargo space and interior room.

 

2012 Hyundai Veloster, 40/-, summer, $17,500: This Tiburon replacement promises to win the Korean automaker even more attention, thanks to aggressive styling and a dual-clutch automated transmission that’s responsible for a 5% mileage gain over a traditional auto box.

 

2012 Kia Rio, 40/-, fall: The redesigned Rio comes in a variety of configurations (from three- to five-door) and with a range of engines (different displacement gas and diesel options). No word just yet which combo will garner that chart-topping highway mileage, though it’s likely to be one of the smaller (and lighter) gas engines mated to an automatic transmission.

 

2012 Mazda3, 40/-, fall: Mazda’s already handsome and well-regarded 3 gets a facelift as well as a new engine called the Sky-G. The two-liter inline four-cylinder engine generates 158 horsepower and is linked to a new six-speed auto transmission, whose improved efficiency and reduced weight no doubt contribute to Mazda hitting the big four-oh.