Friday, February 17, 2023
Due to substantially low voter turnout resulting in the failure of Woodland Public Schools’ Replacement EP&O levy on the February 14 ballot, the Board of Directors decided put the levy up for vote again in with the same tax amount and same term as originally approved during April’s Special Election on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
After speaking with members of the community, district administrators and board members learned there was confusion in the community with what the replacement levy is, identifying four key facts about the levy that community members needed to know:
- The replacement levy is NOT a new tax. The board of directors approved a levy to replace the existing levy that expires in 2023 with a three-year levy at a lower tax rate voters are currently paying:
- This year (2023): $2.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value
- Next year (2024): $1.91 per $1,000 of assessed property value
- 2025: $1.91 per $1,000 of assessed property value
- 2026: $1.91 per $1,000 of assessed property value
- The replacement levy lowers the levy rate. The levy rate for 2024 is lower than this year’s and will remain the same at $1.91 in 2025 and 2026. This year (2023), a homeowner whose house is valued at $250,000 will pay $525.00 for Woodland’s local levy ($2.10 x 250 = $525.00). In 2024, the local levy tax will lower the amount for the owner of a home valued at $250,000 to $477.50 ($1.91 x 250 = $477.50), a 9% reduction in owed taxes.
- Levies are not bonds. Levies pay for educational programs and services. Bonds pay for new buildings. Woodland’s replacement levy fills the gap between what the Washington state legislature funds and what local schools actually need to provide high-quality educational programs.
- Without a replacement levy for its expiring levy, Woodland Public Schools must cut $3,000,000 in educational programs and services for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, plus an additional $3,000,000 in cuts for the 2024-2025 school year. Nearly every school district in Washington State needs a locally-funded levy to provide the additional services schools need to provide high-quality educational opportunities for children.
In Woodland, the following educational programs are funded by local levy dollars and may be reduced in size or eliminated entirely without a replacement levy:
- 1:1 Technology for all students
- Arts, Music, Athletics, and Extracurricular Clubs
- Career Center at Woodland High School
- Class Size Reduction Programs, particularly at the middle school and high school
- Current Textbooks and Curriculum
- Curriculum Introductions and Updates
- Custodians, Maintenance and Grounds Staff
- Elementary Counselors / Social Workers
- Facilities Maintenance, Repair, and Upkeep
- Family Community Resource Center
- Paraprofessionals who support quality teaching at every school
- Safety and Security Improvements
- School Bus Transportation
- School Secretaries
- Special Education Programs
- Specialized & Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
- Student Behavior and Discipline Support Staff
- Summer School Credit Recovery at Woodland High School
- Support Programs which help students come to school ready to learn
- Teacher and Staff Training
- Teaching Improvement Specialists
Although the state increased the maximum amount school districts can collect from local levies to $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, Woodland Public Schools’ Board of Directors elected not to collect the maximum amount, opting instead to collect $1.91 in all three years the Replacement Levy will operate.
Washington State’s legislature continues to underfund most school districts. “Local communities must take on the role of supplying the funding their schools need for high-quality educational programs through local levies,” explained Superintendent Michael Green. “Without community support, we will have no choice but to take dire and draconian measures, cutting the budgets of our local schools dramatically to the point where our community’s children will have access to the barest minimum in educational opportunities.”
The special election for Woodland Public Schools’ replacement levy runs from April 7 to April 25.
Community members can register to vote online anytime up until April 17 at https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx and in person at the County Elections office up until April 25, 2023
For more information about Woodland Public Schools’ replacement levy, visit the district’s website at: https://www.woodlandschools.org/levy or call the district office at (360) 841-2700.