CAMANO: Replacement Levy Info – Nov. 22, 2023 (SCSD)
The Stanwood-Camano School District is sending out weekly informational newsletters about their Feb. 2024 replacement levy ballot measure. See all of the issues at this link.
Learn more about our levy
Stanwood-Camano voters will be asked on February 13, 2024, to renew our four-year Educational Programs & Operations levy. Over the next few weeks, we will be updating the community with regular informational emails featuring more details about the levy.
Let’s start with: Why do school districts need to ask their communities for a levy? The short answer: Because the state does not fully fund the day-to-day operations of our local schools.
The state’s McCleary decision increased state property taxes and decreased the amount school districts could collect through local levies. This has been interpreted by some as “the state now fully funds basic education.” However, the state’s definition of “basic education” does not fund what is required to run a school district. That is why the state allows districts to run local levies. It acknowledges the gap between what the state funds and a district’s actual needs.
In our district, this levy relies on local taxpayers to help fund more than 16% of our annual budget. Without the levy funding, the district would need to cut its budget. And because staffing expenditures are about 90% of the budget, there would likely be reductions to positions (resulting in higher class sizes) and elimination of programs (including within athletics).
Where and to what degree classes and programs are reduced would be decided later with input from students, staff, and the community as part of a Budget Reduction Plan.
Our revenue sources
For example, in our 2023-24 budget, the state funds 4.3 positions of our 9.8 nursing staff, 17.6 positions of 24.9 custodian staffing, and 0.8 of a position of our 9.2 safety and student supervision personnel. (Calculated in FTE, full-time equivalent.)
And without voters approving a replacement to the expiring EP&O levy, the funding we use to help fill these budget gaps goes away. This puts positions and programs in jeopardy of being eliminated.
In next week’s levy update, we’ll take a closer look at some of the specific areas funded by this levy.
Key facts to know about our levy …
- This is not a new tax — it would replace the existing and expiring levy
- Levy dollars are used for staffing positions in every school
- It funds the entirety of our General Fund spending on athletics
See additional information, meeting dates, and resources about the levy at www.stanwood.wednet.edu/levy.
