LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood School Board reviewed a budget-cutting plan Wednesday night that it hopes remains just that — words on paper.
The proposal outlines $1.5 million in spending reductions the district could be forced to make by fall.
Those cuts will be averted if voters in Lakewood School District approve a four-year levy proposal on Tuesday. The measure received a 55 percent "yes" vote in March, but needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass. State law gives school districts two chances a year to renew their levies.
"School districts — Lakewood included — rely on the local levy to provide the programs and services that I think most people take for granted as … normal operating business," Superintendent Larry Francois said.
"Without the levy, I think that things would just look and be much different for people, and we would not be able to provide the programs and services that our community expects."
Four or five teaching slots could be cut, and the equivalent of eight to 10 full-time nonteaching positions are at stake. Also on the list of potential cuts is the curriculum director, sports and after-school programs, and everything from field trips to fifth-grade outdoor camp.
The Lakewood board reviewed the budget reduction plan Wednesday, but took no action. If the levy passes, the plan will be dropped. If the levy fails, the board will vote on it May 5.
Francois cautioned that cuts made this year would be less dramatic than spending reductions the district would have to make next year.
The levy, which raises more than $3 million a year, accounts for about 17 percent of the school district’s annual $18.5 million budget. Seventy-eight percent of the budget is for employees.
If the levy fails this year but passes in 2005, the district could not begin collecting tax money until 2006. The result would be a $3 million budget loss — $1.5 million for the 2004-2005 school year and another $1.5 million for 2005-2006.
"That is really the piece I think is critical for people to understand," Francois said. "Year one, while there would be some visible changes, really is fairly minor compared to what we would see in year two. We would have no choice but to cut deeply into staff."
Sonja Behen, a mother of two children in the district and a member of the levy campaign committee, compares school levies to saving for a child’s college education.
"Once you start, it’s not so bad," she said. "If you stop and start again, it’s so much harder."
The levy proposal is for $3.19 per $1,000 of assessed value the first year, dropping to $3.13 per $1,000 the final three years. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the cost would be $638 in 2005 and $626 the ensuing three years.
The current levy rate is $2.93 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $586 a year on a $200,000 home.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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