2007 Maintenance & Operation Levy

Levy Results

The official election results have been released. The final tally is as follows:

Choice	Votes	Percent
Levy...YES	10,003	61.49%
Levy...NO	6,266	38.51%

Thank you to all who have helped in this campaign, or took the time to vote YES!

Levy Overview

On February 6, 2007, district voters will be asked to consider a levy proposal for the 2008-2010 calendar years. These dollars would replace the significant gap created when two attempts to renew the levy failed in February and May 2006 elections.

Our district will receive no levy funding for the entire 2007 calendar year, which leaves our children's schools dramatically underfunded compared to other schools state-wide.

The levy proposal covers three years, and is for the following amounts. As described in the Levies, Bonds, and Your Taxes article, the dollar amount is what is being voted on. The tax rate is only an estimate based on the projected value of all properties in our district:

Year	Levy Amount	Estimated Tax Rate
2008	$11,829,000	$1.77
2009	12,775,000	1.77
2010	13,706,000	1.77

What is Funded by the Levy?

The proposed levy makes up approximately 15% of the total district budget. As described in the Washington School Funding 101 article, the rest of the funding comes directly from the state and federal governments, and are not directly voted on.

This levy aims to re-instate many programs that were cut after the double levy failure, which will leave our district with no 2007 local levy dollars. This levy also takes steps in a number of areas to improve the quality of our schools.

Some items that are new to this levy are hiring additional support staff for the four new schools scheduled to open over this time period, improving intervention programs for struggling students, adding a Highly Capable program staffed by teachers, funding additional otherwise-unfunded mandates such as No Child Left Behind, and increasing compensation across the district to bring our staff close to the local median pay levels. This last item is especially important in attracting quality applicants while staffing our new schools.

Notice that if this proposition is passed, and only if it is passed, the state will provide the district with an additional $10.5 million over the three years. These funds come from the state's general fund and are available for industry-poor districts, like our own, as a form of tax relief if a maintenance and operation levy is passed.

For a more details breakdown of where the district intends to spend the levy dollars, please review the following document:

February 2007 Levy Line Items

How Does the Current Levy Compare with Other Districts?

Battle Ground's current levy expiring at the end of 2006 is a very modest levy when compared to other districts. The following comparisons are intended to give the most accurate depiction of how our local funding compares with other districts.

Levy Percent
The state limits the percent of total funding a district can raise from a Maintenance and Operation Levy. Most districts are limited to 24% of their state and federal funding. This 24% includes levy equalization dollars. The following chart shows the levy percentages for area districts in 2005:

Chart

As you can see, the state average of 23.1% is close to the maximum, and Battle Ground's current levy lags significantly behind the other districts.

Passing the February 2007 levy would bring Battle Ground up to approximately 17.6% in 2008 (see calculations).

Levy Dollars per Student
The following chart shows how many levy dollars per student each district used for the 2004-05 school year. The light blue bar represents levy dollars funded directly by the taxpayers, while the dark blue represents levy dollars including state levy equalization. Levy equalization is money provided by the state for industry-poor districts to reduce the tax burden on citizens:

Chart

Passing the February 2007 levy would bring Battle Ground up to about $954 per student without equalization and $1258 with equalization for the 2008 calendar year (see calculations). Assuming 4% annual inflation, these are equivalent to $832 and $1097 in 2004-05 dollars, which are safer to compare with the chart above.

How much will the February 2007 levy increase my taxes?

The February 2007 renewal levy is an increase over the expired levy's tax rate. The information above should help explain why the school board felt this is necessary. However, because this levy replaces the current levy, and because of the growth in our district, the increase over 2006 is not very large. For example, an owner of a $250,000 home will pay about $4/month more in 2008 on local school taxes than they did in 2006.

To find out how much it will affect your tax, try our new Levy Tax Calculator.

When can I expect to receive my ballot?

Ballots will be mailed out to voters on January 19, 2007, and should arrive in your mailbox with five days. If your ballot does not arrive by January 26, call the Clark County Elections Office at 397-2345.

Where can I drop off my ballot?

Ballots either need to be mailed in with a February 6 or earlier postmark or dropped off at one of the drop box locations. Notice that you'll need to put your ballot in the mail by February 5 in order to ensure a February 6 postmark.

The following ballot drop box locations are available only on election day—Tuesday, February 6—from 7am-8pm:

Battle Ground High School, 300 W Main St, Battle Ground
Glenwood Heights Primary School, 9716 NE 134th St, Vancouver
Pleasant Valley School, 14320 NE 50th Ave, Vancouver
Yacolt Primary School, 406 W Yacolt Rd, Yacolt
South Ridge Elementary School, 502 NW 199th St, Ridgefield
Union Ridge Elementary School, 330 N Fifth St, Ridgefield
Fire Station - Fire District 1, 211 39th St, Washougal

In addition, the Clark County Elections Office in Vancouver can accept ballots any week day between now and election day from 8am-5pm, and on election day from 7am-8pm:

Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St, Vancouver

And lastly, there is a 24-hour red ballot drop box a half block east of the election office in Vancouver that can accept your ballot up until 8pm on election day:

Permanent Ballot Drop Box, W 14th St & Esther St, Vancouver

Didn't Find What You Were Looking For?

We welcome any suggestions you have for information that is important or of interest to you. Contact us at citizens@bgschools.org with your suggestions or last minute questions.