Concerns over rising taxes, struggling school funding, the future of the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement and delays to the Brockmann Campus dominated discussion during a town hall hosted Saturday, March 28, at Battle Ground City Hall with 18th District state Reps. Stephanie McClintock and John Ley.
Battle Ground Mayor Pro Tem Aimee Vaile opened the event by welcoming attendees and highlighting the legislators’ work during a short but intense legislative session.
“This most recent legislative session required diligence, persistence, and a strong commitment to advocacy,” Vaile said.
Early in the event, both representatives also raised concerns about Senate Bill 6346, which would impose a 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million beginning in 2028. They warned the income threshold could be lowered in future years and said legal challenges are likely if the bill becomes law. As of press time, the bill awaits the governor’s signature.
Ley described the session as one marked by significant tax increases and emphasized his opposition to a state income tax, even recounting how he was told to remove a “no income tax” tie on the House floor for ‘using a prop.’ Ley wore the tie during Saturday’s town hall meeting.
“I was just stunned at the amount of taxation that happened over the last two years,” Ley said.
When asked, McClintock said she expects at least one organization to legally challenge the income tax bill sometime after its signing.
Battle Ground Public School levy failures
The Battle Ground Public Schools levy failure and ongoing budget reductions drew questions from the audience, with residents asking how lawmakers plan to support the district.
The discussion comes as Battle Ground Public Schools faces deep financial strain following repeated levy failures. After voters rejected a replacement education programs and operations levy last year, the district cut $13 million from its budget. Those reductions eliminated middle school sports and coaching positions, free school supplies for primary grades, Kindergarten Jump Start, instructional coaches and teacher librarians. The district also reduced crossing guard shifts, nursing and mental health roles, consolidated bus routes and delayed curriculum purchases while scaling back its ASPIRE magnet program.
District leaders must now identify another $20 million in cuts after a third levy failure in February. The district serves about 13,000 students across 19 schools, with roughly 85% of its budget tied to staffing. Officials say they faced a $66.72 million gap between state funding and actual costs from 2021 to 2025, including expenses for safety, special education and extracurricular programs. District leaders have not yet decided if they will attempt a fourth levy before the end of the year.
Ley pointed to rising property taxes as a key factor behind repeated levy failures.
“Where this gets into is that people feel they can't afford their entire property tax bill, let alone the cost of everything else, and where that reflects itself is at the ballot box,” he said.
McClintock agreed that affordability is a major issue, but said the state is not meeting its obligation to fully fund education, placing too much pressure on local taxpayers.
“So, I do believe it's the state's responsibility to step up and do this,” she said.
She also expressed a concern over unfunded state mandates pushed onto school districts. As of Janruary, prior to the conclusion of the latest legislative session, the district calculated that mandates add between $17.3 million and $29.68 million in costs. McClintock plans to meet with school leaders to identify the most significant unfunded mandates and intends to seek funding for them during the next legislative session.
Interstate 5 bridge replacement
The Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Program was another major topic, with Ley sharply criticizing the rising cost estimates and inclusion of additional components such as light rail.
“Bottom line is it's an outrageous boondoggle,” he said.
The Interstate Bridge Replacement program, which would replace the aging span between Portland and Vancouver, has seen its projected cost climb significantly in recent years. Updated estimates now range from $13.5 billion to $15.2 billion, with a likely cost of about $14.4 billion, up from earlier projections near $6 billion. Officials attribute the increase to inflation, labor and material costs and long-term risk projections.
Of that total, about $7.8 billion is considered the base cost, with the remainder tied to uncertainty in future conditions. Project leaders say roughly $5.5 billion has already been secured to begin core work, including replacing the bridge, improving Interstate 5 connections and extending light rail into Vancouver. They also cite heavy daily traffic and earthquake vulnerability in the current 109-year-old bridge as reasons to move forward.
Ley raised said key decisions are being made without fully prioritizing core needs, such as reducing congestion, and criticized the inclusion of light rail, which he said adds billions in cost without clearly benefiting Southwest Washington commuters. Ley said efforts to convene a bipartisan oversight discussion on project priorities were unsuccessful during the legislative session.
He further questioned the project’s long-term effectiveness, citing projections that commute times could increase and congestion could worsen even after completion. Ley also opposed tolling as a funding mechanism, saying it would place additional financial strain on local drivers while providing limited benefit.
“So, let's put it in context; We're gonna spend $7, $10, $12, $16 billion and your travel times are gonna get worse,” he said.
Ley additionally pushed back on arguments that the current bridge must be replaced due to earthquake risks in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, describing those claims as a fear tactic. Citing the M9 Project at the University of Washington, Ley believes there is a roughly 14% chance of a magnitude 9 earthquake happening in the next 50 years.
Brockmann Campus delays
The future of the Brockmann Residential Treatment Facility was another priority for McClintock and Ley.
The Brockmann Residential Treatment Facility, located near Washington State University Vancouver, is largely complete but remains unopened due to state budget decisions. The 48-bed campus was designed to serve individuals under civil commitment orders and was expected to create 154 full-time jobs while easing pressure on overcrowded facilities such as Western State Hospital. The project cost an estmated $42 million to build.
The project has been delayed until at least 2027 as lawmakers respond to a projected $16 billion state budget shortfall. The delay is expected to save about $74 million, but it means the facility has yet to serve any patients. No additional funding was secured during the 2026 legislative session.
When asked for an update by The Reflector, Ley said efforts to fund or operate the facility have stalled, despite attempts to explore public-private partnerships.
“So that is absolutely horrible when you've got a building empty and they're spending $600,000 a biennium to keep it behind a chain link fence and to pay security guards to keep it secure,” he said. “It should be serving people today, and it's not.”
Ley said a private operator had expressed interest in opening the facility quickly through a public-private partnership, offering to staff and run the campus under a contract with the state. He said lawmakers pushed for either direct funding or approval of that partnership during the session but received no clear response.
He described repeated attempts to work with state agencies and the governor’s office to move the project forward, including meetings aimed at identifying what legislative or administrative steps were needed. According to Ley, those efforts did not result in action, leaving the facility idle despite ongoing demand for mental health services.
Ley argues that further delays would only prolong the lack of access to treatment beds. He said he plans to continue pushing for a faster resolution, including revisiting the possibility of a public-private partnership to open the campus sooner.
Battle Ground Mayor Eric Overholser, who joined the audience after throwing the first pitch of the Battle Ground Little League season, closed the event by thanking the legislators and community members for their participation.
“I just wanna make sure that we recognize the work that you guys are putting in, and just show the appreciation from the city of Battle Ground directly for you guys,” Overholser said.
