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Quick quiz as school tax measures face the final exam

By Howard Buck
Published: January 17, 2010, 12:00am

1. What, are these folks crazy, to ask for new taxes?

Well, no. These are replacement levies that would continue the tax charged all property owners for local school support, every year — save for Battle Ground residents, who most recently paid nothing in 2007 after back-to-back measures failed, barely, in 2006.

2. Just what do these things pay for?

Pretty much anything most folks today would consider “basic education” needs, plus many extras of value.

Schools tailor funding requests to fit economy

Districts such as Evergreen and Vancouver say up to 80 percent of local money goes for basic ed costs. That’s because Olympia fails to cover all routine expenses — those for teacher aides, counselors and secretaries, heating and cooling, and insurance premiums, even for daily school bus trips. To offer tough Advanced Placement courses requires teacher training, for example — and districts must pay for that, too.

A balancing act

(a) Tax rate x (b) $1,000 in assessed value = (c) property tax.

Once a school levy measure is approved, (c) will change the least. (a) and (b) are variables that rise or fall, like a teeter-totter — but must always produce (c) that owner’s share of the locked-in district total. Schools do not gain if assessed values increase.

Proposed levy totals and estimated tax rates:

BATTLE GROUND

2011 … $20.5 million … $2.99

2012 … $21.5 million … $2.88

2013 … $22.6 million … $2.78

CAMAS

2011 … $10.4 million … $2.68

2012 … $10.7 million … $2.63

2013 … $11.0 million … $2.57

EVERGREEN

2011 … $40.8 million … $3.49

2012 … $41.5 million … $3.55

LA CENTER (A separate school technology levy asks $250,000 each of the three years.)

2011 … $2.30 million … $2.83

2012 … $2.40 million … $2.90

2013 … $2.55 million … $2.97

RIDGEFIELD

2011 … $3.7 million … $1.90

2012 … $3.8 million … $1.90

2013 … $3.9 million … $1.90

VANCOUVER

2011 … $39.0 million … $3.08

2012 … $41.0 million … $3.23

2013 … $43.0 million … $3.33

WASHOUGAL (A separate transportation levy asks $250,000 each of the four years.)

2011 … $5.09 million … $2.58

2012 … $5.09 million … $2.58

2013 … $5.09 million … $2.58

2014 … $5.09 million … $2.58

It’s long been a sore point, hence a major pending school lawsuit against the state and, in 2009, passage of House Bill 2261, the as-yet-unfunded effort to force Washington to meet its constitutional duty to fully support K-12 education.

The rest? Also things largely taken for granted: Extracurricular activities such as sports, performing arts and elective courses, after-school activity buses, library and media resources, class supplies, and so forth.

3. In this lousy economy, surely they won’t ask us to pay more?

Yes and no. The Evergreen and Vancouver districts will ask for millions more in total levy dollars. But wait: Each has data that show median home values have slumped enough that many owners would pay less in taxes in 2011-12, officials say. Of course, not every home tracks evenly.

In the context of $200 million-plus operating budgets, Evergreen and Vancouver’s proposed hikes amount to 1 percent or less, officials note. That barely keeps pace with inflation on labor, materials, energy and insurance costs, they say — and won’t offset likely state funding cuts of $6 million or more in both districts next year.

On the flip side is Washougal, which would freeze its levy at 2010 levels the next four years. That hold-the-line mandate comes from the community, leaders say. (A separate transportation levy also would hold at $250,000 all four years, a drop from $283,000 in 2010.)

Then, there’s Battle Ground, asking far more than ever. That’s a long story; in a nutshell, the district has greatly lagged in local support after levy failures in 1996 and in 2006. (This year, local taxes pull in 12 percent of Battle Ground’s budget — that’s noticeably less than in neighboring districts.)

Many advocates feel the district sold itself short by downsizing its successful tax measure in 2007 to placate a strong anti-tax minority. It has no choice but to catch up or face dire consequences, they say.

A balancing act

(a) Tax rate x (b) $1,000 in assessed value = (c) property tax.

Once a school levy measure is approved, (c) will change the least. (a) and (b) are variables that rise or fall, like a teeter-totter -- but must always produce (c) that owner's share of the locked-in district total. Schools do not gain if assessed values increase.

Proposed levy totals and estimated tax rates:

BATTLE GROUND

2011 ... $20.5 million ... $2.99

2012 ... $21.5 million ... $2.88

2013 ... $22.6 million ... $2.78

CAMAS

2011 ... $10.4 million ... $2.68

2012 ... $10.7 million ... $2.63

2013 ... $11.0 million ... $2.57

EVERGREEN

2011 ... $40.8 million ... $3.49

2012 ... $41.5 million ... $3.55

LA CENTER (A separate school technology levy asks $250,000 each of the three years.)

2011 ... $2.30 million ... $2.83

2012 ... $2.40 million ... $2.90

2013 ... $2.55 million ... $2.97

RIDGEFIELD

2011 ... $3.7 million ... $1.90

2012 ... $3.8 million ... $1.90

2013 ... $3.9 million ... $1.90

VANCOUVER

2011 ... $39.0 million ... $3.08

2012 ... $41.0 million ... $3.23

2013 ... $43.0 million ... $3.33

WASHOUGAL (A separate transportation levy asks $250,000 each of the four years.)

2011 ... $5.09 million ... $2.58

2012 ... $5.09 million ... $2.58

2013 ... $5.09 million ... $2.58

2014 ... $5.09 million ... $2.58

“I want to keep this school district at a viable level,” said Superintendent Shonny Bria, also bracing for a new round of state funding cuts.

4. That minority bloc carries a big weight, right? Doesn’t it take a 60 percent vote to approve a levy?

Not since Washington voters approved a simple-majority constitutional change in November 2007 (a move Clark County voters opposed, 55 to 45 percent). Now, school districts need win only 50 percent support, plus one more vote, to pass an operating levy.

Long-term school construction bond measures still do require a 60 percent supermajority.

5. You say many districts are holding the line, yet I see tax rates are due to climb.

That’s the inverse relationship of tax levies: When property values drop, as they have as a whole, rates must rise in order to collect the same total revenue.

Washougal’s a prime example: It seeks the same $5.09 million in 2011 it earns this year with an expiring levy. But since values are predicted to slide further before they recover, the estimated tax rate for 2011 would nudge up. Regardless, most folks would pay about the same tax in 2011.

For 2012 and beyond, those rates are really anyone’s guess. In any case, Washougal taxpayers altogether would not pay more than they do now.

It’s a similar tale in several districts, where even a sliver of new development would keep individual tax bills virtually flat.

6. ‘Holding the line’ plays well … but where’s the real belt-tightening?

It’s one thing to shed employees when business dries up. Yet Clark County school enrollment keeps rising, and each student must be served.

There were scores of school layoffs last summer. The Vancouver district cut 41 teaching positions, Battle Ground, another 20. Evergreen spared classrooms but laid off 68 other workers and cut hours for many more. Vancouver cut 16 central administration jobs and instituted unpaid furlough days.

Evergreen also cut bus routes, cut discretionary school accounts and won pay-and-benefits freezes from employee groups that helped save $11 million. Its 2009-10 budget grew by 0.29 percent over the prior year. Evergreen also launched an energy-saving blitz, retrofitting lights and heating-cooling systems to the tune of $800,000 saved in the past year.

Vancouver found $7 million in total savings; its annual budget rose by about 1 percent.

Battle Ground? Its operating budget dropped, in real dollars, by $2.25 million, almost 2 percent. All employee groups took a 4 percent cut in take-home pay. The district has since scoured for energy and transportation savings at every corner.

Similar changes are happening in the other districts.

Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.

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