CHIMACUM — Voters in the Port Hadlock, Chimacum and Port Ludlow areas will soon be asked to approve a two-year maintenance and operations levy and add about $4 million to the Chimacum School District’s coffers.
On Feb. 3, voters in the school district’s precincts will be presented with a request from the schools for $4,176,000 over the course of two years.
If approved, the levy would give Chimacum schools $2,037,000 in 2010 and $2,139,000 in 2011.
Taxpayers would pay 96 cents per assessed $1,000 valuation of property value in 2010, and $1 per assessed $1,000 in 2011.
The levy would renew a similar three-year levy that will expire at the end of the 2009 school year — and add a slight increase, said Art Clarke, district business manager.
“It’s going up a little bit, but this is really just a continuation of that [maintenance and operations] levy from before,” Clarke said.
“It’s not a new tax per se, just a continued tax that is trying to stay with inflation costs.”
The district has operated with maintenance and operation levies since 1994. Voters approved the current three-year levy in 2006.
Districts can ask for a levy of up to four years at any given time, but Clarke said the district would only seek a two-year extension this time.
“Over time, we’ve been trying to spread it out, so it’s not much of a raise,” Clarke said.
“This time, we went two years instead of three to see how the economy is going to play out.”
Clarke said district revenue has increased marginally each year.
This year the district collected $1,900,000. In 2009, it will collect $1,940,000.
“We’ve always had great support from our voters in the past,” Clarke said.
“And this isn’t much of a change.”
The Chimacum School Board holds its next board meeting on Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chimacum High School Library, 91 W. Valley Road., Chimacum.
