Our Voice: Kennewick schools need a double yes

Those blue school levy signs have sprung up along Kennewick streets, adding a bit of color to the winter landscape and alerting voters an election is coming up.

Please, don’t ignore them.

Ballots are scheduled to be mailed Thursday in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties. When they arrive, care should be taken so they don’t end up forgotten on a kitchen counter or in a filing drawer.

The election is Tuesday, Feb. 13. Instead of putting it off, Kennewick residents should just go ahead and vote “yes” twice – once for the Educational Programs & Operations levy and once for the Technology levy – and return the ballots as quickly as possible.

Both proposals are needed, and this year the total of the two requests combined is significantly less than what property owners are used to paying.

That’s thanks to the state changing the way it funds education.

It is called a levy swap, and trades local levy money for state money.

Beginning in 2019, the amount school districts can collect from local taxpayers will be capped at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

This is the legislative fix lawmakers came up with to meet the court order demanding the state finally fulfill its constitutional duty to amply fund K-12 education.

So how does this play out in Kennewick?

Well, the current levy rate in Kennewick is $3.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value, according to Kennewick school officials.

But now local school districts are restricted, so the new four-year school operations levy is set at the $1.50 tax rate. State money is supposed to make up the difference.

In order to do that, there will be a one-time hike in property taxes this year before they drop in 2019 and thereafter.

In Benton County, the state property tax bump will be $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value this year, according to Benton County Assessor Bill Spencer.

Kennewick School Superintendent Dave Bond said he wants voters to be aware of this year’s one-time tax increase, and realize the rate will drop to the $1.50 cap next year.

The school levies are critical for programs like athletics, art and music. They also cover school nurses and security officers. Local levy money also pays for the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs at the high schools.

In addition, Kennewick is trying to develop a technology program so students have access to a device like a laptop or tablet in every academic period of their school day. This will be district-wide at all grade levels.

To make this happen, Kennewick school officials are running a separate technology school levy request at 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value beginning in 2019 and then dropping to 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed value by the year 2022.

Learning how to use technology is necessary if our students are going to succeed, and providing access to these tools throughout the school day will help them immensely.

Combined, both levy requests add up to $2.00 per $1,000 of assessed value beginning next year. That’s quite a reduction from the $3.35 tax rate Kennewick residents are paying now.

Giving the Kennewick School District a double “yes” should be an easy decision.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Kennewick schools need a double yes."