Schools submit levies, bonds

  • By Melissa Slager and Eric Stevick / Herald Writers
  • Wednesday, January 25, 2006 9:00pm
  • Local NewsLocal news

Nearly half the school districts in Snohomish County are seeking replacement maintenance and operations levies on the Feb. 7 ballot.

On average, levies cover about 17 percent of local school districts’ annual operating expenses.

“They’re critical,” said Terri Spencer, a former Lake Stevens School Board member who is promoting the measure there. Also seeking renewals are Edmonds, Everett, Marysville, Mukilteo, Northshore and Sultan.

Election coverage

Sunday: Everett, $198.9 million bond measure.

Monday: Mukilteo, $97.6 million bond measure.

Tuesday: Edmonds, $140 million, and Northshore, $123 million, bond measures.

Wednesday: Marysville, $120 million bond measure.

Today: Maintenance and operations levies.

Schools can only collect the dollar amount voters approve. So as assessed property values rise with growth in a community, property tax rates fall to equalize the difference.

Districts’ estimates were based on 2005 rates, the latest year final figures were available.

Here’s a look at what each district is proposing:

A replacement four-year maintenance and operations levy and a 20-year construction bond are on the ballot.

The levy averages $34.6 million per year, with rates declining from $2 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2007, or $400 on a $200,000 house, to $1.75 by 2010.

The levy pays for 90 teachers, 112 teaching assistants and other support staff, books and materials, transportation, extracurricular activities, special education services and other programs.

The $140 million bond would help pay for a new Lynnwood High School and Meadowdale Middle School.

If the measures pass, the total tax rate is projected to be $3.96 per $1,000 in 2007. The 2005 rate was $3.99 per $1,000.

The four-year replacement maintenance and operations levy would collect an average of $33.5 million a year. The estimated tax rate the first year would be $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation – or $500 for the owner of a $200,000 house – rising to $2.61 per $1,000 the fourth year.

The levy makes up 18 percent of the district’s $150 million annual operating budget.

Also on the ballot is a 15-year, $198.9 million bond issue for major school renovations and a 17th elementary school.

The total tax rate in 2007 would be an estimated $4.99 per $1,000 valuation, or $998 on a $200,000 house. The 2005 rate was $5.01 per $1,000.

A four-year replacement levy would raise an average of $11 million a year. The estimated cost each year is $3.14 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $628 on a $200,000 house.

The levy funds 14 percent of the district’s operating budget, with 65 cents of every dollar put into classrooms.

Also on the ballot is a one-year transportation levy that would raise $1.2 million to buy 16 buses to replace aging ones and expand the fleet to serve the new junior high school. The cost would be 38 cents per $1,000 valuation, or $76 on a $200,000 house.

The total tax rate in 2007 would be an estimated $5.53 per $1,000 assessed value, dropping to $5.12 per $1,000 the second year. The 2005 rate was $4.20 per $1,000.

Two measures are on the ballot, a four-year maintenance and operations levy and a 20-year, $118 million bond measure.

The levy, which will replace an expiring one, would pay for about one-fifth of the district’s daily operations. It now pays for 14 teachers, 29 educational assistants and other staff, extracurricular activities, portions of teacher salaries and other expenses beyond state funding.

Cost would be $3.15 per $1,000 of assessed value, about the same as now.

Opposition comes from a group calling itself Levies Are for Students, which includes former school board member Ron Young. He said he is dissatisfied with how levy money has been used and with a teachers labor contract.

District finance director Jim Baker said, “The levy is very important for the daily operations of the district.”

The bond measure would allow the district to build a second high school and a new elementary school, among other things, and is a scaled-back version of earlier attempts.

Overall, when levies and bonds are combined, the total tax rate would be an estimated $4.70 per $1,000, or $940 on a $200,000 house. That’s up from $4.22 per $1,000 in 2005.

Two levies are on the ballot in addition to a bond measure.

Topping the list is a replacement four-year maintenance and operations levy. That would raise an average of $26 million per year, at a cost of $2.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $468 on a $200,000 house.

A six-year technology levy would raise $2 million a year. The levy, costing about 19 cents per $1,000, would put computers on a five-year replacement cycle and upgrade software.

Also on the ballot is a 20-year, $97.6 million construction bond for a new elementary school, remodeling Mukilteo Elementary School and expanding Kamiak High School, among other improvements. The cost of the bond would be an estimated 36 cents per $1,000 in the first year.

The overall tax rate, including outstanding debt on previous bonds, is projected to be $4.99 per $1,000 in 2007, or $998 on a $200,000 home. The 2005 rate was $4.42 per $1,000.

The district is requesting two levy renewals in addition to a bond measure.

The four-year maintenance and operations levy would raise an average of $35.5 million a year. Costs would vary; the estimate for the first year is $2.13 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $426 on a $200,000 house.

The levy makes up 18 percent of the district’s $160 million annual operating budget.

A four-year technology levy, raising $4.5 million per year at annual costs averaging 27 cents per $1,000 valuation, would pay for new computers, interactive whiteboards and other technology improvements.

Also on the ballot is a 20-year, $123 million bond request to continue upgrades to older schools and improve playing fields.

The district estimates the total tax rate in 2007 wouldn’t top $4.21 per $1,000, or $842 on a $200,000 house. The 2005 rate was $4.34 per $1,000.

The maintenance and operations levy rate would stay even under the district proposal.

The four-year replacement levy would raise an average of $3.5 million per year. Costs would vary each year. The estimate for the first year is $3.05 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $610 on a $200,000 house, about the same as the current rate.

The levy makes up 16 percent of the district’s $17 million annual operating budget, with 53 cents of every dollar going to basic education needs.

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