School levy won't hurt a bit, but it will help schools

If you have not already filled out your ballot, which you should have received in the mail by now, you should do so now.

Grand Coulee Dam School District is proposing yet another levy, which won’t raise your taxes any higher than they already are. That’s because it’s just part of a two-levy remedy the district is hoping to implement to make up for money lost in the wake of new school funding structures put in place in the wake of the state Supreme Court’s McCleary Decision.

The levy you’ll find on the ballot for the Feb. 5 election would keep your taxes at about the same level as they are now, as older levies run out.

If you’re confused, thinking you just approved a levy a few months ago, you’re correct. Voters last summer did approve the first of two levies needed to keep the district at current levels.

And even its passage will be no guarantee of that, since a State Legislature fix is still needed to fill in the gaps created by the new system, one of which caught our local districts.

Voting yes on the levy for District 301-J won’t hurt your budget, but it will allow the district to keep functioning, even as legislators deal with fixing the holes in the new system.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher