School levy will decide future of 500 Pasco jobs. Ballots out this week
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- Ballots mailed this week for April 28 levy that makes up about $50M of budget.
- Measure needs a majority; without it up to 500 jobs and programs could be cut.
- Campaigns clash over budget, staffing and transparency after a 60-vote February loss.
Ballots will go out this week to registered voters in the Pasco School District for the April 28 special election.
The district is asking voters to renew its educational programs and operation levy after Feb. 10 voters narrowly rejected a similar ask. The four-year, $153.7 million measure is not a new tax.
This is Pasco’s last chance to approve funding before its current operations levy expires at the end of 2026.
The levy and matching dollars the district receives from the state make up about 13% — or about $50 million — of its total operating budget. As many as 500 jobs could be cut or affected without the money. Student programs and daily operations would also be impacted.
Voters should expect to receive their ballots by Friday. Franklin County Elections Center will mail out 45,000 ballots this week to registered voters living within the school district boundaries.
Registration can be filed or updated online until Monday, April 20, by visiting vote.wa.gov.
“As ballots are mailed, I encourage our Pasco community to stay informed and take part in the April 28 election,” Superintendent Michelle Whitney said in a statement. “Participating in local elections is an important part of being engaged in our community, and we appreciate everyone who takes the time to be involved in this process.”
Campaigns ramp up levy messaging
Campaigning has begun in earnest even with Pasco families out on spring break this week.
Signs are beginning to go up and campaigns have begun organizing door belling and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Vocalized support for this levy measure will likely be more overwhelming as the February measure failed by a slim 60 votes. Just one-third of all Pasco staff and teachers living in the district chose to return their ballots. Advocates also pointed to a history of voter apathy and low turnout as a reason it failed.
The tax supports day-to-day operations at each of Pasco’s 27 separate schools. It bridges the gap between what the state and federal government provide in supports, apportionment and program funding, and what schools actually need to provide students a holistic education.
Pasco’s levy pays for classroom teachers, instructional staff, nurses, paraeducators, counselors, front office staff, transportation services, substitutes, athletics, coaches, music and art programs, clubs, technology upgrades and support, maintenance, security and school resource officers.
The measure needs more than 50% support in order to pass. It would tax a rate of about $2.08 on every $1,000 of assessed property value. On a home valued at $400,000, that is about $832 annually.
Pasco Votes for Schools, the committee supporting the levy campaign, says in the voters pamphlet that cuts could affect every school, resulting in larger class sizes. There will be no Friday night lights, fewer bus routes, fewer jobs for teachers and staff, and “more juvenile crime, drugs, gang affiliation and trafficking” without the levy and the activities it funds.
“These cuts mean lost jobs, lost opportunities and detrimental economic impacts across our community,” the campaign said in the voters pamphlet.
This year is the first since 2018 that Pasco’s levy committee has had a formal, organized opposition.
The Proposition No. 1 Con Committee says it is concerned with the district’s rising budget, a lack of clarity on the tax and its long-term sustainability. They’re urging more accountability and transparency on how funds are being used.
The self-described “group of dads who have had enough” points to per pupil spending, district staffing levels, and the rising rate of property values as major issues that need to be corrected. It would like to see future levy increases limited to just 3%.
“All school districts face financial challenges when student enrollment declines or remains flat, and adding more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in this environment only intensifies those challenges. Pasco chose to add more staff,” their campaign wrote on Facebook.
The pro committee has called the con committee’s statements “inaccurate” and a misrepresentation of the district’s fiscal reality. Likewise, the con committee has been critical of the district for providing what it views as “massaged numbers.”
Pasco levy information sessions
Pasco School District is required to remain neutral when it comes to the levy, and it cannot campaign, but it is allowed to provide information to voters, parents and community members.
It’s hosted multiple information session so far about the April 28 election. Community members can learn what a levy is and what it funds, how districts budget, and why they run these measures. Here are the future events:
- Thursday, April 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Stevens Middle School commons (1120 North 22nd Ave.)
- Tuesday, April 21, 6-7 p.m.: Ochoa Middle School library (1801 East Sheppard Street)
- Thursday, April 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Ochoa Middle School library, Spanish levy presentation.
Voters must return their ballots to the Franklin County Elections Department by 8 p.m. on election night.
Ballots can be returned by mail, but it’s recommended to return them to a county certified drop box if it’s within a week of election day. USPS mail is sent out to Spokane to be processed before returning to Pasco. Ballots must be postmarked by election day in order to be counted.
About 270 Pasco voters had their ballots rejected by the county’s canvassing board because they were postmarked too late and arrived late to be counted for the Feb. 10 special election.
