News
Waitsburg M&O Levy on February Ballot
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oters in the Waitsburg School District will be asked to approve a two-year maintenance and operations levy in February. If approved, the amount collected will be $410,000 in 2011 and $422,000 in 2012. This levy will replace the existing M&O levy, which provided $379,000 in 2009 and will provide $383,000 in 2010.
Waitsburg School Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke says that the upcoming levy is intended to allow the schools to maintain services at existing levels. “This won’t bring new services with it,” she says. “But we expect our costs to increase significantly in the next couple of years, particularly in the areas of health and retirement benefits for employees.”
Dr. Clarke also says that the level of funding the District can expect from the State of Washington is very unclear right now. “In the Governor’s budget for next year, there is no levy equalization,” says Dr. Clarke. “The Waitsburg Schools have been receiving over $200,000 in levy equalization in recent years. So if the budget doesn’t change, the impact on our schools will be huge.”
The expected levy rates for taxpayers if the upcoming levy is approved will be $3.65 per thousand dollar valuation in 2011 and $3.75 per thousand in 2012. This compares with current rates of $3.24 per thousand in 2009 and $3.41 per thousand in 2010.
“Our community has always been very supportive of our schools,” says Dr. Clarke. “We really appreciate that support, and we’re confident that it will be there again this year.”