Levy Renewal Information - Levies Are For Learning!

The Centralia School District Board of Directors has unanimously approved a resolution to place a two year renewal of the educational programs and operations levy on the February 13, 2018 ballot. The levy will provide continuing funding of up to $3.3 million in the first year and $3.5 in the second for programs that are enhancements to what the state defines as basic education. Levy tax collections will be capped at $1.50 per thousand in assessed value, a reduction from the current levy which expires in 2018.

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“We have significantly reduced the amount of our levy in response to new state mandates on school funding,” said Superintendent Mark Davalos. “The state has placed a cap of $1.50 per thousand on assessed value of local levies, this has caused us to lower the amount sought in our levy renewal.” The expiring levy provides the district with $5.625 million in annual revenue.

 Local levies are crucial to school funding. They provide resources for programs and services that our community expects high performing schools to provide. “Unfortunately, state funding does not cover the costs of programs deemed to be outside of the scope of basic education,” said Davalos. “Local levies also help our community retain local control over the programs we offer. It’s important to remember that we are asking voters to replace the current levy, not to approve a new tax. In fact, the replacement levy is at a lower rate.”

Levy funds can be used for educational “enhancements” such as athletics, special education, student transportation, robotics programs, activities, technology enhancements, additional teaching support staff, nursing staff, mental health support, additional counseling staff, music and arts programs, class size reductions, and much more. “These are all important things that we’ve relied on our levy to provide,” said Davalos.

 Even though the expiring levy was in place for four years, the District elected to run a shorter levy this time. “There is a lot of uncertainty in how the state will proceed with levy regulation in the coming legislative session. We want to keep our options open in the near future to make sure we’re able to work within whatever our lawmakers set as parameters,” said Davalos.

“Historic support for our levies has been outstanding,” said Davalos. “It’s a great testament to the value our community places on education. I’m looking forward to meeting with our community over the next several months to talk about how valuable our levy is to Centralia’s students.”

Click here to download an information sheet about your levy renewal.