The Richland School District is planning to run a two-year maintenance and operations levy in February to help with daily operating expenses that aren't fully covered by the state.
The school board settled on the levy date and length during its regular meeting Tuesday. Board members will agree on a levy amount at an upcoming meeting.
The levy won't be a new tax but instead will replace the current levy, which will be expiring. School districts in Washington rely on levies to supplement the money they get from the state for basic education.
The property tax income generated by levies helps pay for things like utilities, security staff, librarians and counselors, art, music, P.E. and sports.
Levy money will be especially critical for districts in the coming few years because they'll be getting less money from the state. The state Legislature slashed funding for K-12 education and other programs because of a projected revenue shortfall for 2009-11 in the billions. And more cuts could be coming.
The Pasco and Kennewick districts also are discussing running levies next year.
Also Tuesday:
The school board continued reviewing a policy on the selection and adoption of instructional materials.
The board and district staff have been reviewing the policy since May, after some parents expressed concerns about novels being offered in high school language arts classes.
There was talk Tuesday of having teachers flag on their syllabi the novels with graphic language or mature themes.
But some teachers, parents and students said they worried that could lead to censorship and would show a lack of faith in teachers' judgment.
District staff plan to meet with teachers and seek more input in the next few weeks. The board will revisit the policy at a future meeting.
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Kennewick schools set levy requests
Kennewick schools set levy requests
The Kennewick School District will be asking voters to raise their current property tax rate Feb. 14 to stave off severe cuts in classrooms in the face of declining state budgets.
The school board Wednesday unanimously adopted the recommendations of district staff for an operations levy of $22 million in 2013 and $23.4 million in 2014.
School districts only set levy amounts, not rates. According to current estimates for the total assessed value of all real estate within district boundaries, the tax rate in 2013 would be $3.38 per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $338 for a $100,000 home.
School districts stuck in levy limbo
School districts stuck in levy limbo
Tri-City school districts face uncertainty in setting their operations levy amounts -- they do not know how much the Legislature will cut their budgets in a special session that starts Nov. 28.
Yet to get their levy measures on the Feb. 14 ballot, districts need to file their resolutions by the end of the year.
All three Tri-City districts are running replacement levy measures in February. The money raised from property taxes makes up 10 to 20 percent of each district's operating budget.
Pasco moves one step closer to year-round schools
Pasco moves one step closer to year-round schools
It appears the Pasco School District will do everything possible to avoid switching some of its schools to a multi-track year-round calendar.
The school board Tuesday unanimously approved the recommendations of a task force convened to address overcrowding: Pasco elementaries should switch to the new calendar to free up space and sixth grade would be moved from the middle to the elementary schools.
But after hearing from parents and staff during dozens of meetings held in the past weeks, district staff asked that the new schedule be delayed as long as possible. The board adopted that amendment to the original recommendation.
Richland School Board, Position 4: Mary Guay, Brian Barth
Richland School Board, Position 4: Mary Guay, Brian Barth
Richland voters have two choices for Position 4 on the school board next week -- an incumbent who has spent 20 years on the board and a challenger who is on the committee that recommends novels for Richland classrooms.
Board members are elected to four-year terms. They are paid $50 a board meeting.
Mary Guay, an 83-year-old retiree who came to the Tri-Cities in the 1950s, has been on the board for the past 12 years. She also served on it for eight years in the '70s.
Operations levy on board agenda
Operations levy on board agenda
The Kennewick School Board will hear preliminary information about the upcoming operations levy at its meeting tonight.
The new proposal is not expected to raise property taxes above current levels within the district.
Voters approved a levy last year, which runs out at the end of 2012. The district is expected to place a levy on the February 2012 ballot. That property tax then would go into effect at the beginning of 2013, immediately after the current levy expires.
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