Public welcome at pair of Wednesday meetings on possible Spokane Public Schools levy

The Spokane Public Schools board of directors will face some tough choices Wednesday night as they consider whether to put a one-year supplemental levy on the April ballot.

It’s an issue so crucial that the board will devote portions of two meetings to it: a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 7 p.m., both at the district’s downtown offices.

The public is welcome to attend both sessions, but may give comments only at the 7 p.m. meeting. A final decision is expected Wednesday night.

The fiscally challenged district has a smorgasbord of choices, including which programs and personnel to restore after last year’s budget cuts, how much money – up to $22.5 million – to ask for in an Educational Programs and Operation Levy, and when to have an election.

The district isn’t alone. Dozens of other districts around the state are considering supplemental levies, and several local districts already have done so.

Central Valley narrowly passed a supplemental levy earlier this month. Another, with a similar price tag, lost heavily in Mead.

Given that, voter temperament also is a concern for Spokane, which got approval in November 2018 for a $495 million bond.

A supplemental levy would see the district through the 2020-21 school year, but it still must seek a three-year replacement levy in February 2021.

A one-year levy would supplement the final year of the school district’s existing three-year General Fund replacement educational programs and operation excess tax levy authorized by the voters in 2018. A one-year levy would provide taxes to be collected at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, as allowed by state law.

The board could also decide not to hold an election at all and draw on its reserves until it seeks a regularly scheduled three-year levy in the spring of 2021.

Those options were discussed during a special meeting on Feb. 19, when the only consensus reached was that the board needed more information.

At that meeting, staff presented a list of “buildup” considerations for 2020-21. They include money to lessen overcrowding and to restore secondary school librarians, full-day Fridays at elementary schools and the specialist model, plus potentially some elementary school librarians.

The proposal also would add about $3.5 million to support special education.

Special education funding has been a source of friction between the Legislature and school districts. Noting that Spokane is underfunded this year by about $5.5 million, Superintendent Shelley Redinger and some of her colleagues from other large districts were planning to meet with legislators on Wednesday morning.

The school board appears to have four choices on how to proceed:

• Restore up to $9 million in cuts from last year without a supplemental levy, which would draw down, though not eliminate, the district’s minimum fund balance or “rainy-day fund.”
• Restore only some of last year’s cuts, with a correspondingly lesser reduction in the “rainy-day fund.”
• Maintain the status quo from last year’s budget cuts and leave intact the cuts.
• Seek voter approval for supplemental levy.

The amount raised would depend on the increase in assessed values as measured in July 2020. Assuming an increase of 10% from the previous July, that would mean $22.5 million raised. However, the cost per thousand could increase to a maximum of $2.50 per thousand.

On a home assessed at $275,000, that would mean a one-time increase of $255.75.

A voter authorized supplemental education program and operations levy will support 2020-21 general fund operations for expenses not funded by the state.

If an election is held in April, the board would need to file with Spokane County by Friday.

If approved Wednesday night, the levy election would be held on April 28. If no other issues appear on that ballot, the district must pay the entire cost of the election, or about $100,000.

Last week, the board also discussed the possibility of holding the election in August or November – options that are still on the table.