Bill eases new school levies

OLYMPIA – Capping a statehouse fight that’s continued for at least 14 years, the state Senate’s Democratic majority and a few Republicans on Thursday voted for a constitutional amendment that would make it easier to pass property taxes for schools.

“I believe with all my heart this is the day,” Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, said shortly before the vote. “The time has come.”

It passed, 33 to 16.

School officials were pleased.

“My first reaction would be ‘Hurray!’ ” said Polly Crowley, superintendent of the West Valley School District. “We’ve been sitting on the edge of our seats hoping this would happen.” The district saw levies fail – barely – in 2003 and 2006. Both passed on the second try.

The proposed constitutional amendment – if approved by voters at November’s election – would lower a decades-old hurdle that makes it hard for some school districts to raise enough local tax dollars.

Districts wanting to raise their property tax levies more than 1 percent a year must now win approval from a 60-percent “supermajority” of voters. The proposed constitutional amendment would lower that to the usual standard in an election: 50 percent plus 1 vote.

“Parents should not have their hearts broken when a levy gets 59 percent of the vote,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle. “That is terribly demoralizing.”

The change would not, however, apply to bonds, which are typically used for construction and other major long-term investments in schools.

Lawmakers who oppose the change – Republicans and a few rural Democrats – said they don’t want to make it any easier to raise property taxes.

“It is an out and out property tax increase,” said Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver. “The fact of the matter is the citizens of the state of Washington want to protect the 1 percent limit.”

“Let’s face it, school districts will push the envelope when it’s easier to pass these,” said Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, predicting higher levies.

Colville schools last year failed twice at passing a levy, the second time coming just 61 votes short of the required 60 percent.

Kettle Falls in 2005 passed its levy – on the second try – by just three votes. Two months ago, the district failed to pass a new levy by 26 votes. The district is trying again now.

In every one of those cases, the yes votes comprised more than 57 percent.

Across the state, school officials say that local tax levies are shouldering an ever-larger share of basic education costs once covered by the state.

“A 60 percent (super)majority makes a lot more sense if you’re not funding computers and new textbooks and the things that people think are basic, with levies,” said Kettle Falls school Superintendent Greg Goodnight.

In Colville, Superintendent Ken Emmil said that even with the proposed change, districts must remain careful about how much they ask for.

“You have to be respectful to your community,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is put businesses and families in this community in a tough situation. They’re my neighbors.”

Thursday’s measure would also erase a long-standing requirement that at least 40 percent of the people who voted in the last general election cast a ballot in order for a levy vote to be valid. Under the change, any number of voters could approve a districtwide levy, so long as a simple majority of them vote yes.

Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to require at least 15 percent of registered voters cast a ballot for the vote to count.

Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, then tried unsuccessfully to require that levy elections – which are typically held in the spring – be held only during November’s general election. Democratic leaders had offered that exact compromise to Republican critics earlier this year, only to watch the bill fail anyway.

“You can get me once, but you can’t get me twice,” said Eide.

The 60-percent supermajority rule stems from a Depression-era grass-roots push by an alliance of union members and farmers. But things have changed dramatically since the 1930s, lawmakers said Thursday, and voters should have a chance to decide the issue for themselves.

“Let the people decide,” said Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma.

As several lawmakers noted, levy failures are a particular problem for impoverished rural school districts. It’s very rare for voters in urban, property-rich districts like Spokane or Seattle to reject school levies.

“The frustration is that a lot of the rural legislators won’t support going to a simple majority,” said Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane.

Rural lawmakers said that a high levy threshold forces schools to be accountable to local taxpayers. They predicted that voters will be uncomfortable with levy elections in which a small number of voters can set taxes for the entire district. And they said the real problem is the need for the state to steer more money into basic education, special education and transportation.

“We’re not doing our job and we ought not be making pretty speeches,” said Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, who nonetheless broke ranks to vote with Democrats for the measure.

The simple-majority change is part of a broader show of Olympia’s support for education, said Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina.

“We have a long way to go, but I think this is the first step,” he said.

Democrats said that fears of a “stealth election” with a handful of school advocates imposing their will on taxpayers are grossly overblown. It’s very hard to keep an election secret, several have said, when voters in most counties get their ballots in the mail.

Eide said the simple-majority issue was what led her to become a state lawmaker in 1993, when she was 39 years old.

“I am now almost 53 years old,” she said. “… This was a long time coming.”