Legislature OKs schools raise more through levies
Cash-strapped school districts would be allowed to ask voters for additional money through local property taxes under a measure passed by the Washington state Legislature on Thursday.
Associated Press Writer
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Cash-strapped school districts would be allowed to ask voters for additional money through local property taxes under a measure passed by the Washington state Legislature on Thursday.
On a 29-19 vote, the Senate passed the measure lifting the levy lid that currently limits how much school districts can seek, and how often, from 2011 to 2017. The measure passed the House last month, and now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire for her expected signature.
Gregoire has promised help to struggling school districts, and the bill would help them make up for school budget shortfalls. It would allow districts to ask for more money and would let them go back to the voters for more money in the middle of a levy cycle.
"We must not tie the hands of our school districts," said Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell. "We must allow them to make the case to their people, and let the people decide."
The levy lid law took effect in 1979 and sought to limit levy revenue to 10 percent of a school district's state basic education allocation. It had a grandfather clause, however, and allowed some districts to exceed the 10 percent limit.
Lawmakers gradually increased the levy led over the years, and under current law, most districts may now raise up to 24 percent through levies. The bill raises the levy lid by 4 percentage points, from 24 percent to 28 percent. Districts grandfathered in at higher rates can also raise their levies by 4 percent.
The bill also would increase the levy equalization rate from 12 to 14 percent. This is the amount of the property tax that poor districts get from the state in addition to what they can raise locally.
Five Republican amendments were rejected, including one that would have increased the levy lid by only 2 percentage points.
Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, and other opponents argued during the Senate debate that increasing the levy lid doesn't mean property-poor districts can get any more money from their voters.
