School Levy Votes Are Tuesday

Thu., March 9, 2000

By Marny Lombard marnyl@spokesman.com (509) 927-2166

Spokane Valley voters will decide in Tuesday’s levy elections if they want to keep on providing about 20 percent of their school districts’ budgets.

The three-year levies on Tuesday’s ballots will combine with state funding to pay for most education programs such as music, vocational education, gifted programs, extracurricular activities, as well as school maintenance, instructional materials, transportation and smaller class sizes.

Levy money is for routine operating and maintenance expenses. It cannot be used for teacher salary increases, nor can it pay to build new schools.

“What we’re doing is really a referendum on our current quality and programs,” said Wally Stanley, superintendent of the Central Valley School District. “This levy is not an opportunity for us to say we can make some grand improvements. That’s not the way this funding works.”

If voters approve, levy tax rates across the Valley would stay at current levels or even drop slightly.

Central Valley’s levy collection would raise $12.8 million in 2001, $13.6 million in 2002 and $14.4 million in 2003.

Central Valley’s tax rate would remain at an estimated $3.95 per thousand dollars of assessed property value, the current rate.

In East Valley, the levy would collect $5.2 million in 2001, $5.5 million in 2002 and $5.8 million in 2003, with a tax rate of $3.90 per thousand dollars.

In West Valley, the levy would bring in $4.8 million in 2001, $5 million in 2002 and $5.3 million in 2003. The estimated tax rate is $4.65 per thousand. West Valley will also run a $1.5 million technology levy. This would renew a current technology levy. Tax rates for this levy are estimated at 48 cents per thousand in 2001, 46 cents per thousand in 2002 and 44 cents per thousand in 2003.

Freeman’s levy would collect $895,000 in 2001, $922,000 in 2002 and $950,000 in 2003, with a tax rate of $4.10 per thousand.

These levies need 60 percent approval to pass. Also, a certain number of voters must turn out, in order for the results to be valid. This so-called validation number is equal to 40 percent of the voters in November’s general election.

To validate, Central Valley must have 7,699 voters, East Valley must have 2,389 voters, West Valley needs 2,116 and Freeman needs 582.

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