Area school districts are asking for a whole lot more than an apple on Valentine’s Day.
Kennewick, Pasco and Richland school district voters will be asked to renew the districts’ maintenance and operations tax levies in the Feb. 14 election.
The operations levy is not a new tax. It replaces the current levy, which expires at the end of 2012. Every two years, district residents are asked to renew the levy.
The Kennewick School District is asking voters to approve an operations levy of $22 million in 2013 and $23.4 million in 2014. The Pasco School District is proposing a levy of $20.1 million for 2013 and $20.3 million in 2014. And the Richland School District is seeking about $19.8 million in 2013 and almost $21 million in 2014.
The operations levies are different from bond levies, which are used to construct schools. The operations levies pay for the everyday functions of the school, from salaries for substitute teachers, to copy paper, to bus fuel, said Mike Miller, of the Citizen’s Levy/Bond committee.
The citizen’s levy and bond committees of all three districts are hoping to have the business community’s support for the levies.
Budget cuts have severely affected the amount of money each school district receives from the state. The operation levies are imperative for the schools to continue operating at an adequate level, said John Deichman, chairman of the RSD citizen’s levy/bond committee.
Deichman said while some residents may think the schools can make cuts to their own budgets and find ways of doing things more efficiently, that’s already been done — again and again.
“The fat’s gone,” Deichman said. “We are messing with muscle and skeleton at this point.”
Mary Lynn Merriman, also of PSD’s citizen’s levy committee, said having good schools is imperative to the area’s economy.
“Good schools are good business,” Merriman said. “Educating the future workforce is very important.”
In 2010, there was an average of 8,410 employees in the local education system in Benton and Franklin counties.
“Public education is the sixth largest employing industry in the area,” said Ajsa Suljic, regional labor economist for the Washington Employment Security Department.
However, public education ranks fourth in total payrolls, with a 2010 payroll in Benton and Franklin counties of $314.4 million.
Suljic said public education in the area represents 6.4 percent of total payrolls, with an average annual wage for educational workers of about $37,400.
“Through education, we are educating our local residents and increasing the skills base of the local workforce, which is critical for economic development and the prosperity of any community,” she said.
And there is are some added bonuses to approving the levies, at least as far as paying taxes are concerned.
All the levy taxes stay in the community and benefit local schools and students, said Miller.
“And having good school facilities raises the assessed value of homes in the area,” said Merriman.
Voters should receive ballots about Jan. 26. Unlike a bond levy, the operations levy only requires a simple majority to pass. But the committees want to make sure residents vote and send in their ballots.
“Every vote is important,” said Deichman. “We don’t want them to get lost on the kitchen table.”
by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
