PORT ANGELES — A proposed maintenance-and-operations levy destined for the February ballot likely would cost property owners more than the Port Angeles School District had thought.
So the School Board will be asked Dec. 11 to repeal the ordinance it approved Thursday that places the two-year levy on the Feb. 10 ballot and then immediately approve another resolution placing a measure with a higher levy rate on the same ballot, Superintendent Marc Jackson said Friday.
The amount the district is requesting be collected — $8.6 million in 2016 and $8.8 million in 2017 — could possibly change, as well, he added, although “I believe the board will stay as close to those numbers as they can.”
The board voted unanimously Thursday to put the two-year levy on the ballot to replace the current four-year levy, which expires in 2015.
The present levy collected $8,443,062 for the district in 2014. The taxes collected in 2014 were on a levy rate for 2013.
That levy rate was $3.23 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
The proposed two-year levy is intended to be a replacement levy, yet the estimated levy rate for both years was cited in Thursday’s resolution as being $2.57 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
That estimate seemed a little low, said Assessor Pam Rushton on Friday.
After talking with her, Jackson agreed.
“We received additional information from the Assessor’s Office that indicates our ballot projection rates were inaccurate,” Jackson said.
“We have a history of being transparent and accurate with information we are conveying to our voters. In that spirit, we feel that it is essential to adopt a new resolution that repeals the old one.”
The estimated amount of the rate for the proposed levy has not been computed yet.
“It is not uncommon for assessors to provide adjusted additional assessment values that change the projected levy rates,” Jackson added.
Educated guesses
Estimated levy rates are educated guesses.
When an entity estimates the rate property owners will pay, it is basing the estimate on the expected value of property in the area.
“It is complex,” Rushton said.
The Port Angeles School District has “to project what the values will be in 2016 and 2017.”
“These are projected values based on historical information,” Rushton said.
“Values are changing all the time.”
Judging by present values and given the amount the district wants collected, Rushton said she does not foresee a great change from the present levy rate if voters approve a new levy in February.
“It appears that the levy will not change drastically over the previous levy,” she said.
On Thursday, board members noted that the district usually puts a four-year levy on the ballot but this year selected a two-year option.
McCleary decision
They hope a legislative resolution to the 2012 state Supreme Court McCleary decision will take much of the cost of running the schools off local voters’ backs.
“We do not know what will happen with the settlement,” said board member Lonnie Linn.
In the McCleary decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers are not meeting their constitutional responsibility to fully pay for basic education and that they are relying too much on local tax-levy dollars to balance the education budget.
The court gave the Legislature until the 2017-18 school year to fix the problem detailed in the lawsuit by a coalition of teachers, parents, students and community groups.
If the Legislature fully funds education, as the McCleary decision mandates, many of the costs currently paid for by the maintenance-and-operations levy could be covered by the state, Linn said.
A four-year levy would lock taxpayers into paying a higher rate even if the district began receiving more state funding and could operate on a less expensive levy, he said.
Board member Sarah Methner said maintenance-and-operations levies were designed for school districts to add on locally valued “extra” programs, such as the orchestra program or maintaining vocational training courses.
Instead, it has become a major portion of the district’s funding for essential operations, Methner said.
In the past year, the district has begun replacing positions that were lost after the 2008 budget cuts due to the Great Recession, such as school counselors.
“We’re finally at a point where we’re adding back,” said board member Cindy Kelly.
“We want to be true to our voters,” she said.
Board members said if the state Legislature does not meet the funding targets set by the state Supreme Court, then the district can come back in two years for another levy.
Levy and bond
Bond money and levy money serve different purposes.
Bond money must be used to build or replace school buildings and major equipment.
Maintenance-and-operation levies help pay for the annual cost of running schools.
School districts depend on maintenance-and-operation levies for operating revenue. State and federal funds only provide a portion of the district’s funding needs.
Currently, levy funds account for 20.5 percent of the Port Angeles School District’s budget.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 3604522345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
