School board looks to run one levy, for less money, in November

After two school levies failed in February for the Grand Coulee Dam School District, school board directors are looking to run just one levy election in November. 

Roughly 56% of voters voted against two levies the district proposed in February — the Educational Programs and Operation Levy, and the Capital Levy for Safety, Technology and Facilities Improvements. 

The board of directors, in their July 11 meeting, told Superintendent Paul Turner they would like to pursue a $2 educational levy for three years, a significant drop from the $4.20 total of the two levies that failed in February, and from the three levies currently in effect that expire at the end of the year, which also total $4.20.

Turner said last February that the educational levy is the most important because it helps pay for educational services ranging from preschool to special education and more, while the capital levy helps pay for repairs to school facilities, which are less essential to school operations. 

The educational levy is also tied to about $700,000 more per year from the state for “levy equalization” that the district doesn’t get if voters don’t approve a levy.

The district needs to run a levy for between $1.50 to $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to qualify for those state equalization dollars. 

The $2 per $1,000 of property valuation for the newly proposed educational levy is the estimated rate to collect the targeted amounts of $721,000 in 2023, $775,500 in 2024, and $814,000 in 2025. 

The targeted amounts are what the district is really levying for, and depending on circumstances, it could take a rate less than $2 per $1,000 to collect the targeted amounts, such as if valuable homes were built within the district, it would spread the cost out among more taxpayers.

Currently, with an estimated $4.20 per $1,000 collection rate, someone with a property valued at $100,000 would pay $420 a year in taxes, but with a $2 collection rate would pay less than half of that at $200.

Turner will draft a resolution for the new levy for the board to approve at their next meeting scheduled for July 25 in order for the levy to be on the November ballot. 

If approved, the levy itself would bring in roughly $2.3 million over those three years. The additional $700,000 from the state per year would bring in another $2.1 million for a total of $4.4 million over that three-year span.

During Monday’s meeting, board directors, along with Turner, discussed emphasizing that the tax cost will be less than in previous years.

“We are looking to reduce costs for taxpayers, especially now with inflation,” Director Rich Black said.

Black also suggested holding open board meetings in which community members could ask questions about how levies work to help clarify the often-confusing logistics behind them and “ensuring people understand what the facts are when they make their choice.”