By Cheryl Schweizer
Chronicle correspondent

     PATEROS - Grace Larsen said she was looking for an "alternative advertising modality" to publicize the school district's Feb. 9 maintenance and operations levy to district voters.
     Looking for new ways to explain what the levy is and what it does came up at a recent Pateros School Board meeting.
     Larsen said it got her thinking about the old Schoolhouse Rock jingles known to Saturday morning television watchers.
     "I left that meeting wondering if there was a way to do the same for the levy," she said.
     Larsen said she remembered Don McLean's "American Pie" refrain about driving the Chevy to the levee.
     "I started playing around with different words, rhymes and concepts having to do with the levy and our school district. The 'Levy Song' was the result.
     "Several people in our district were willing to get together and make a recording, with the hopes it could be aired on the radio and encourage people to vote yes for the levy," she said.
     Radio advertising was scheduled.
     "For the recording there were four high school students, two elementary students, one recent PHS grad, and four parents," Larsen said.
     But the plan went a little astray.
     "We were really crunched for time, so we had to rehearse and record the song at the same session," she said.
     "The recording equipment was graciously loaned to us by a friend. Unfortunately, we had no recording experience, one set of microphones, a living room studio and very limited rehearsal time," she said.
     "We also didn't have the necessary software to edit and convert the recording into MP3 format," she said.
     The recording is difficult to understand, which kind of defeated the purpose because "the message is in the lyrics."
     At some point, the group will try again, Larsen said.
     "Overall, it's been an invaluable experience for us," she said. "We learned a little more about citizenship, creativity and resourcefulness."