Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Cascade School District seeks voter support for replacement levies

Posted

LEAVENWORTH –  Voters will see two proposed replacement levies from Cascade School District on their Feb. 11 ballots.

The two proposed levies will replace current levies that are set to expire in Dec. 2025. The proposed levies are not new taxes, but a continuation of the existing levies voters approved in 2021. Because the state provides funding for basic education and not the full cost of operating a school district, levies bridge the gap. Currently, revenue from the levies provide 20 percent of the district’s budget in the 2024-2025 school year.

Proposition 1 will present a replacement of the EP&O levy, which funds all athletics and extra-curriculars, unfunded staff positions which include some librarian, nurse, and custodian positions, and unexpected or district-specific expenses, such as snow removal. It also provides special education support, which is only partially funded by the state and federal government, to fill the gaps in funding and support the individual needs of students.

“It's local communities that allow those opportunities for students. So, when voters approve [EP & O] levies, what they are saying is that, ‘Hey, we're going to give our kids the opportunity to play basketball, or wrestle, or be on the debate team, or be in a play,’ or all the different things that are not what the state would consider basic education, but that a lot of us value,” said CSD Superintendent Tracey Edou.

Proposition 2 will present a replacement of the capital levy, which would fund technology upgrades, facility improvement at Icicle River Middle School, a restroom renovation at the Peshastin-Dryden sports complex, and district-wide security features.

The proposed combined rate of the two levies is estimated to remain the same as the current $1.14 per $1,000 of assessed property value. However, the combined rate will be redistributed between the two levies in order to better support district needs without increasing the overall tax rate, which voters approved in 2021. 

For instance, the current combined rate amounts to 99 cents for the EP&O levy, and 15 cents for the capital levy. The redistribution would lower the EP&O amount to 76 cents in the first year, and raise the capital amount to 38 cents in the first year.

The difference between the two levies lies in how they're tied to student enrollment. The EP&O levy is based on the number of students, so if enrollment declines, the district collects less, even if the approved levy amount is unchanged. Contrarily, the capital levy is not tied to enrollment, allowing the district to adjust funding to support facilities and infrastructure needs, regardless of the student population. This redistribution would ensure that the overall levy rate remained stable at $1.14 while meeting the district's needs.

Ballots will be mailed out on Jan. 21, with the special election taking place on Feb. 11. Edou feels “cautiously optimistic” that the community will support the replacement levies, and is more confident than the 2021 vote.

“I think the general feedback is more positive this time. I think during our hybrid year, there were a lot of people who didn't like hybrid school and didn't like masking and things like that…It was our most difficult school year,” said Edou.

If by chance the levy fails to pass in February, the district will try again in the months thereafter. However, a second vote runs the risk of failing right before a staffing deadline.

“Then you end up having to do a lot of very quick turnaround layoffs, which nobody likes. It's very damaging to the school district and to the community,” said Edou.

The last time the community faced a double levy failure was in the 1990s, which, former CSD teacher and Cascade Education Foundation President Karen Turner remembers, put the district in a dire situation.

“Somebody said, ‘I don't care what you're doing outside the classroom, you have to cancel it.’ So that meant band, choir, anything that was going to be performed outside the regular classroom curriculum – all sports, high school and middle school, and it was devastating,” said Turner, who had to cancel the seventh grade field trip to Central Washington University.

A group of parents and other invested individuals had to come together to narrow the funding gap, both fundraising and contributing their own personal funds. Still, coaches had to volunteer without compensation to maintain some of the sports programs.

“These funds, whether it's part of the state budget or anything extra, weren't paying for anybody to do anything that was superficial or frivolous, and I think that was the lesson everybody learned. This supports kids, and the kids in our district are our responsibility,” said Turner.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here