Two school levy meetings coming up

by Jacob Wagner

Those who have an interest in the education of local youth will have two opportunities to learn more about an upcoming school levy that will be on the ballot for the November election. 

The Grand Coulee Dam School District’s proposed educational levy seeks $2 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, down from the $4.20 total collected from three levies expiring at the end of this year. 

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

If approved, the levy itself would bring in roughly $2.3 million over three years, 2023-2025, and 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.

On Thursday, Sept. 29 at 3:45 p.m., a meeting will be held at the Raider Hub at Lake Roosevelt Schools in Coulee Dam. 

“This meeting is an opportunity to hear the facts about how this levy will benefit our children, our school district and our community,” wrote Karen Depew of the group Citizens for Quality Education that is hosting that meeting. “You will also hear the truth about the annual household costs associated with bringing a quality education to all of the children in our district.”

Additionally, on Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m., the GCDSD school board will host a meeting, also in the Raider Hub, and hold their own question-and-answer session about the levy. 

That meeting happens to coincide with Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day, on which there is no school.