Voters approve levy requests in area districts

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It was a clean sweep for area school districts in the Feb. 9 Special Election as voters in the Green Mountain, Hockinson, La Center and Ridgefield districts approved replacement maintenance and operations levies. 

Ridgefield voters offered the most emphatic support of their district’s levy request with almost 64 percent of ballots counted (2,244) cast in favor of the levy, which will provide the district $5.9 million in 2017, $6.7 million in 2018 and $7.6 million in 2019 and cost property owners $2.46 per $1,000 assessed home value in 2017. 

The funds in Ridgefield are targeted for the district’s performing arts programs, full-day kindergarten classes, outdoor learning experiences, many extracurricular programs and add transportation options for students who ride the bus. The levy funds account for about 20 percent of the school district’s budget. 

“Great schools and great communities are inextricably linked,’’ wrote Nathan McCann, superintendent of the Ridgefield School District, in a letter addressed to Ridgefield voters the day after the Special Election. “Your vote in support of our students is also a vote of support for the entire Ridgefield community. Unabashedly, our aspirations are grand: to be the state’s premier school district. Achieving our goal is only possible because of the tremendous support and involvement we receive from each of you.’’

Green Mountain

Voters in the Green Mountain School District approved the levy request by a margin of 56 to 44 percent. The levy amount is $500,000 in 2017, $525,000 in 2018 and $550,000 in 2019 and will cost property owners $3.55 per $1,000 assessed home value in 2017.

The levy will replace the maintenance and operations levy voters passed in 2012. That levy expires this year. The proposed levy makes up the difference between what voters in the Green Mountain School District expect from their schools and what the state of Washington provides. The proposed levy would fund 25 percent of the school district’s operating budget.



Hockinson

The early returns were closest in the Hockinson School District, where the levy request was passing with 53.36 percent “Yes’’ votes, compared to 46.64 percent “No.’’ The levy will provide the district with $4.105 million in 2017, $4.82 million in 2018 and $4.997 million in 2019 and will cost property owners $3.56 per $1,000 assessed home value in 2017. 

The 2017-2019 levy will replace two expiring levies. It will continue funding positions that are not paid for by the state, including 10 teachers and 22 support staff employees. The new levy will also allow the district to add three new employees – in school security, grounds maintenance and general maintenance positions – replace kitchen equipment, repair roofs, upgrade computer labs and servers, resurface the high school’s athletic track and replace the fiber cable to the elementary school.

La Center

More than 56 percent of La Center voters approved their district’s levy that will provide the district $2.68 million in 2017, $2.81 million in 2018 and $2.95 million in 2019. The levy will cost property owners $2.87 per $1,000 assessed home value in 2017.

Levy dollars account for about 23 percent of the La Center School District’s operating budget and pay for things such as: technology, class size reductions, extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, counseling services, music and art programs, additional staffing, instructional materials, utilities, maintenance costs, security and facility safety improvements, extra support for struggling students as well as for advanced students, additional specialists for K-8 students (i.e. art or technology), upgraded choir/band equipment, costs of a growing student population, purchasing additional school buses/bus options that the state doesn't pay for, field trips and special learning experiences for students, providing additional elective and Advanced Placement (AP) courses at the high school and technology replacements and upgrades.