Voters in the Woodland Public Schools district will have an opportunity to vote on a levy to replace an expiring property tax at a lower collection amount than what is currently on the books.
Only one proposition will be on the ballot for North Clark County voters during the Feb. 14 special election. If approved, the Woodland Public Schools’ replacement educational programs and operations levy would collect $5.9 million in 2024, $6.25 million in 2025 and $6.625 million in 2026.
If voters approve the replacement levy, the rate is projected to be less than what property owners in the district pay for the expiring levy, according to information provided by the district. The current levy rate is $2.10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The new levy’s rate in 2024 would be $1.91 per $1,000.
The local levy makes up slightly more than 12% of the district’s operating budget, WPS Superintendent Michael Green said. That funding largely goes to classified staff, which includes paraprofessionals and support staff, he said.
Green added the levy also supports school safety and facilities maintenance.
The levy will be less than current collections in the first year by $200,000 and would go up during subsequent years at levels intended to maintain the tax rate. Green said the district’s board of directors decided to go for a lower rate given across-the-board cost increases district families are experiencing.
“That’s really the board’s interest in recognizing that the taxpayers are dealing with a lot of other costs in their lives,” Green said. “Families are tightening belts. We’ll be tightening belts as well.”
The superintendent said the district hasn’t made decisions on what the 2023-2024 budget will look like given the levy reduction. He believes the district would be able to maintain most of its staffing and service levels by dipping into its fund balance.
“I believe we can absorb that (reduction in levy) without dramatic reductions in staffing at this point,” Green said.
After restrictions for operating schools that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic ended, Green said there are a few pandemic-era changes WPS will maintain in future years. Learning loss from the pandemic led the district to increase staffing in some areas like reading support, counseling and nursing, he said.
“We’ve found those to be very supportive of students and families, and are planning to maintain some of those specialized areas of staffing as well,” Green said.
The local levy makes up for a gap in funding left by what Washington state pays out to its K-12 public school districts. Woodland’s proximity to Clark County school districts make competition for staff tough on the district, Green said.
“We receive less funding from the state per pupil than does virtually every district to the south of us,” Green said.
Without the levy, the district could face around $3 million in budget cuts, Green said, resulting in “significant reductions in staffing.”
He gave the example of school nurses, explaining the state doesn’t fully fund a single one of those positions, Green said. A lack of a levy could also lead to deferred maintenance.
“It would be like a family losing a job and trying to shift from living income to trying to survive on unemployment,” Green said. “We would not be able to operate and support students in the way we do today without the funds.”
The district last ran a levy in 2020. That year it failed to get a majority vote in February, but passed with about 55.2% in favor the following April.
“A majority of our community is really supportive of education,” Green said.
The superintendent is hopeful district taxpayers will show similar support this year.
“I think if people turn out than we’ll have good results,” Green said.
