Businesses Support School Levy Campaign Contributions From Local Firms Provided 25 Percent Of $60,000 Campaign Budget

Banks, Boeing and other big businesses contributed about 25 percent of the Spokane School District levy campaign’s $60,000 budget.

Parent-teacher groups and individuals gave smaller amounts to make up the rest, campaign records show.

Donations paid for “Yes for Kids” yard signs, ads, bus benches and a $12,000 fee to Alliance Pacific, the agency coordinating campaign advertising.

Voters decide Tuesday whether to approve the school levy, which affects 1997 and 1998 property taxes.

Schools help Spokane’s economy by providing an educated work force, business donors said.

“The better education the kids receive, the better off business will be on the whole,” said Bill Riedlinger, whose Xerox rental business gave the campaign a fax machine and free use of a photocopier, donations worth more than $3,000.

Some donors do business with the district, such as Evergreen Mobile Co., a Redmond, Wash., manufacturer of portable classrooms.

“Our vendors have been supporting the schools,” said Tyrus Tenold, chairman of the campaign’s finance committee.

“They’re getting some benefit out of it and they want to give back so the community can have the information necessary so citizens can vote intelligently.”

The largest campaign donation, $3,500, came from Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers, which handles property and casualty insurance for the district.

Other big donors were:

Spokane Principals Association, $3,300.

Seafirst Bank, $2,500.

Washington Trust Bank, $2,500.

The Boeing Co., $1,500.

Washington Water Power Co., $1,000.

Evergreen Mobile Co., $500.

Wendle Ford, $500.

U.S. Bancorp, $500.

Spokane Teachers Credit Union, $500.

Campaign workers equipped with cellular telephones, donated for the day by US West, will give voters rides to the polls on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. For a ride, call levy headquarters at 455-5548.

If approved, the Spokane school levy would collect $32.9 million in 1997 and $30.9 million in 1998.

The 1997 amount is a slight increase over the $31.4 million the district will collect in local property taxes this year.

District officials estimate the tax rate will remain at $3.99 per $1,000 of assessed value from 1996 to 1997.

They base those estimates on an assumption that the county’s total property value will increase by 5 percent a year due to inflation and new construction.

What individual voters want to know is, will my taxes increase?

That’s a tough question to answer.

Whether an individual’s taxes increase depends on whether his or her property values increase, and how much they increase compared to the rest of the county.

That is difficult to predict since the Spokane County Assessor’s Office has not yet set property values for the 1997 collection. In fact, the office has not yet set tax rates for the 1996 collection.

Rates published in levy campaign materials are estimates.

The county sets the levy rate by dividing the revenue to be collected by the school district by the total assessed property value within the district.

Clearly, though, the second year of the levy would bring a drop in both tax rates and local school taxes. The district would collect less money in 1998 than it will collect this year.

The second-year decline is due to a drop in the allowable local levy amount, which is set by the Legislature.

If the levy passes, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $399 in 1997 and $356 in 1998, based on school district estimates.

The levy contributes about 19 percent of the district’s budget. The rest comes from federal and state taxes.

Elsewhere in the county, school districts also are running levies on Tuesday. Here is a rundown:

Mead proposes a $15.73 million two-year levy. The tax rates would be $4.85 per $1,000 of assessed value in 1997, and $4.06 in 1998. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $485 the first year and $406 the second.

Riverside proposes a $2.08 million two-year levy. The tax rate would be $3.89 per $1,000 of assessed value in both 1997 and 1998. The owner of a $100,000 house would pay $389 both years.

Nine Mile Falls seeks a $2.03 million two-year levy. The tax rates would be $3.90 per $1,000 of assessed value in both 1997 and 1998. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $390 both years.

Deer Park wants a $1.85 million two-year levy. Because of growth, the tax rate would drop by about 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $3.60 in 1997 and $3.53 in 1998. The owner of a $100,000 house would pay $360 the first year and $353 the second.

Great Northern seeks $120,000 over two years. The tax rate would be $2.74 per $1,000 the first year and $2.61 per $1,000 the second year.

Medical Lake proposes $646,869 over two years. The tax rate would be $1.75 per $1,000 both years.

Cheney wants $7.23 million over two years. The tax rate is estimated at $4.53 per $1,000 the first year and $4.29 per $1,000 the second year.

, DataTimes