On the positive side, Battle Ground voters have one more chance, on April 23, to support their schools. On the negative side, if they don’t approve the school levy, about 18-20 percent of funding for their schools’ daily operations and maintenance will be lost. Even more discouragingly, this is their last chance this year. A similar levy was rejected in February by 53.4 percent of voters, and state law allows only one more levy try this year.The Columbian supported the earlier levy in Battle Ground this year, and our stance hasn’t changed. It’s no secret that Battle Ground was the only district among more than 40 in the state in which a school operations and maintenance levy failed in February. The North County community is better than that, and school officials are hoping a larger turnout can reverse the decision.
Our one concern with this levy is that it asks for slightly more than the levy it replaces, about $4 more per month for the owner of a $200,000 house. District officials say the increase is needed mostly to meet unfunded mandates — including $1.2 million for a new state-required program to evaluate performances of teachers and principals — plus additional counseling, resources and maintenance.
Critics complain that the district doesn’t do a good job managing its money, to which we respond by pointing to a two-year study conducted in Battle Ground by the California firm Expense Reduction Analysts. It’s instructive to know that this firm was not paid a built-in fee, but instead was paid 50 percent of the savings it recommended. The consultants not only reported that the Battle Ground “district’s focus on keeping costs low is phenomenal,” but added that, of the more than 15,000 cost reviews the firm has conducted, Battle Ground is “unprecedented” in its efficiencies.
What about accusations of the district being “top heavy?” According to state reports, Battle Ground annually spends $571 per student on central administration, less than the statewide average of $621.