School levy seeks $600,000 over next two years

A levy seeking to bring in roughly $600,000 over two years to the Grand Coulee Dam School District will be on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election. 

Superintendent Paul Turner said the new levy is important to the district because of an “uncertainty of funding” coming from the state this coming spring. 

The state is required to fund basic education, but the definition of basic education doesn’t include transportation, Turner explained, saying that is one area that could get hit.

Turner said that the COVID-19 pandemic created budget problems for the state, which will be looking for cuts to make to save money. 

“When the Legislature comes back this spring, it’s going to be a nervous time for education,” Turner told The Star over the phone Monday. “The bottom line is the uncertainty of knowing where we’re at, and the need to make sure we can fund our services for our kids.”

The levy would also help balance the district’s budget, Turner said. “When we did the budget this year, we anticipated a shortfall, and in order to meet our budget we needed to add this levy.”

Recent changes in state legislation allow districts in Washington to ask for an additional $1 per $1,000 in assessed property value for an enrichment levy. 

The previous enrichment levy, which passed in February of 2019, asks for approximately $1.50 per $1,000 in assessed property value, and this new levy is asking for that additional dollar on top of that. 

The “Supplemental Educational Programs and Operation Levy” would bring in $302,522 in 2021, and $311,597 in 2022.

Passage of the levy requires participation from at least 40 percent of voters in the district who voted in the last general election in order to validate the results, according to state law.

The total number of voters in the district in the last general election for the GCDSD is 890, according to the Grant County election office, requiring participation from 356 people to validate the results.

Levies require a simple majority of 50% plus one vote in order to pass.

More information on the levy, the district’s other levies, and the complicated history of Washington levies in the past few years can be found at 

https://www.grandcoulee.com/story/2020/07/29/news/new-school-levy-on-november-ballot/13257.html