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Levy votes were the order of the day on ballots throughout Spokane County earlier this year.
A Feb. 3 special election contained funding initiatives for five school districts in the greater Spokane Valley as well as a replacement levy for the Spokane Fire District. In addition to its maintenance and operations levy, the West Valley School District ran a vote that would raise money for upgraded technology over a three-year period.
Levy funds generally comprise around 20 percent of a school district’s annual budget and cover costs associated with day-to-day operations such as transportation, utilities, staff salaries and books. Revenue is collected through a tax on assessed property value within respective district boundaries.
After the ballots were counted and the election certified in late February, all five districts – Central Valley, East Valley, Freeman, Orchard Prairie and West Valley – had earned over 50 percent of the vote, ensuring that levy dollars would be part of the funding picture for the following year.
Now it turns out that the tax rate will be lower than previously anticipated for at least two school districts.
Central Valley announced Monday that it would roll back taxes in 2010 to the tune of $4.47 million, reducing the amount of property taxes from a voter-approved $3.27 per $1,000 of assessed property value to an estimated $2.86 per $1,000.
According to a press release issued by CVSD on Nov. 30, the 41-cent difference has mainly to do with “the receipt of levy equalization revenue, or supplemental funding given to property-assessed poor school districts by the state.”
“What we told the public was that we would roll taxes back by the total of levy equalization and we did that, just by that minimum amount,” said Cindy McMullen, president of the CVSD board of directors.
According to CV finance director Jan Hutton, the total of levy equalization funds allotted for the district next year should be around $4.7 million.
In East Valley, a similar scenario occurred, lowering the rate from $3.15 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $2.53. The EVSD board of directors approved the adjusted percentage at its board meeting on Nov. 24.
According to Al Swanson, EV finance director, the district expects to receive around $1.8 million in state levy equalization funds in 2010. EVSD will collect $7 million in levy revenue from property taxes.
A key variable in determining the annual levy tax rate has to do with the official property value as specified by Spokane County, the entity responsible for collecting taxes. Each year, the county assessors office establishes a revised valuation on each property and forwards the list to the county commissioners for approval.
In East Valley, the assessed valuation rose 5.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, a small margin compared to the 23 percent increase between 2006 and 2007 when the housing market was booming. Soaring property values also meant lower taxes for residents within the East Valley School District in 2007. The rate went from $3.16 per $1,000 to $3.04.
School districts set the amount to be collected through levies based on static property values. When those values go up, the rate adjusts so that the same revenue is received.
“A lot of people think if the assessed value goes up, school districts collect more money – that’s not the case,” Swanson said.
In November 2007, CVSD announced that homeowners would pay approximately 10 percent less in property taxes for the following year based on growth in the district and the Spokane County assessor’s estimate of property values for 2008. The rate would drop from $2.91 per $1,000 to $2.61.
A shift in development as well as the loss or gain of industry in a community can have an impact on the tax base of a school district, Swanson added. When Kaiser Aluminum announced major cutbacks to its Spokane Valley plant about 10 years ago, Swanson said the effect on EVSD was “substantial.” East Valley’s current boundaries do include the Spokane Business Park on Sullivan.
McMullen said that Central Valley “relies on homeowners to pay most of our tax base.” She added that residential and rural areas are more dependent on state equalization funds than more urban regions on the West side of the state such as Bellevue that draw from industry sources.
Meanwhile, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has informed school districts throughout Washington that budget cuts of some kind will likely be a reality based on anticipated shortfalls in Olympia. Initiative 2261, passed by the state Legislature last year, defines the parameters of basic education while members of several statewide commissions are in the process of addressing essential funding questions associated with the legislation.
EV Superintendent John Glenewinkel said his district will continue to emphasize the importance of retaining staff as it sorts through budget challenges. East Valley retained all of its teachers going into the 2009-10 academic year despite Last week the EV school board approved a contract with its teachers union – the East Valley Education Association represents over 270 employees within the district.
“Our priority is to keep teachers,” Glenewinkel said.
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By
Craig Howard
