BRINNON — Brinnon School District is asking its voters to consider continuing to pay a tax levy for the next two years.
The measure, which will be Proposition No. 1 on the Feb. 13 ballot, would have Brinnon taxpayers continue paying the same rate they paid this year in 2018, and a cost of living increase set for 2019, said Superintendent Patricia Beathard.
“For the first year we are asking for where we left off last time,” she said. “No increase.”
She said the levy will help with programs such as the district’s free preschool for Brinnon residents, a program that provided six swimming lessons for each of the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school’s approximately 69 students and allows the district to have meals prepared on site.
“It just makes Brinnon School a better place,” Beathard said. “It provides a better learning environment for our students.”
The preschool has nine students. The school has five teachers.
Levy numbers
Under the proposal, in 2018, the district would levy $1.16 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, meaning the owners of a $200,000 home could expect to pay about $232. That is expected to raise $314,681 for the district.
In 2019, the district would levy about $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, meaning the owners of a $200,000 home could expect to pay $238. That is expected to raise $320,975.
Beathard said the district has generally been supportive of levies that support student programs.
The community also helps out in other ways.
“I really appreciate the Brinnon community for being so generous with our little school,” she said. “It’s Christmas time and we’ve had lots and lots of people asking if they can adopt families.”
She said that each year people donate so many school supplies the district no longer puts out supply lists for students.
Earlier this month, Beathard was concerned the district would be required to pay $15,000 to $20,000 to float the cost of the election, but after discussions with Jefferson County officials the concern was resolved.
The district would have been required to pay higher costs because it is the only item on the ballot, she said.
“They changed it and made it right,” she said. “They had taken to heart what I had to say and came up with an entirely new way to bill for elections.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
