PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have taken a position in support of the Port Angeles School District’s proposed educational programs and operation replacement levy.
In a unanimous Tuesday vote, the three commissioners passed a resolution backing a measure that would continue to fund 22 percent of the district’s daily operating budget.
“The levy is not a new tax,” district Superintendent Marc Jackson said in the public comment portion of the meeting. “It’s a continuation of the current levy that will expire in December of 2017.”
If approved by simple majority in the Feb. 14 special election, the four-year measure would collect a fixed amount of $9.1 million from 2018 to 2021.
The money would be used to pay for things such as reduced class sizes, job training, transportation, counselors, para-educators, special music programs and athletics, district officials said.
“Those programs are so significant to us because it makes us not just an average district but a great district,” said Jackson, who described the music program as the “envy of the state.”
Steve Methner, co-chair of Port Angeles Citizens for Education, said the slogan for this year’s pro-levy campaign is “A Good Economy Needs Great Schools.”
“Wonderful saying, because it’s really true,” Commissioner Randy Johnson said.
“I’m very much in support of this and do very much look forward to similar action supporting the levies in Forks and Sequim,” Commissioner Bill Peach said.
Peach was referring to other school levies that will appear on the Feb. 14 ballot.
If the Port Angeles measure is approved, the estimated levy rate for 2018 would be $3.30 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, or $660 for the owner of a $200,000 home.
The estimated rates in subsequent years would be $3.26 in 2019, $3.23 in 2020 and $3.20 in 2021. In 2016, the levy rate was $3.20 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
“The district has kept the percentage of the budget consistent, so it’s not an increase as a percentage of the district budget,” Methner said of the levy’s 22 percent share of operating costs.
“The district budget did increase this last time, so the dollar amount that the levy is collecting is a little bit higher, but it’s still in proportion to what the overall district budget is. It shouldn’t be too much of a difference for most taxpayers.”
The other 78 percent of the district’s operating budget comes from state and federal coffers.
The state Legislature is working to fulfill the mandate of the McCleary decision, a 2012 court ruling that said the state must fully fund basic education. Most levy dollars do not target basic education, Methner said.
“They target all of the things in an educational experience for kids that are not part of the basic, that make it actually go from standard, or basic, to excellent,” Methner said.
“That’s something we want to make sure is out there, that the state isn’t going to fix this [if the levy fails]. Even if they become effective and come together and fund their burden, it’s not going to backfill what the loss would be to our kids locally.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
