Stanwood-Camano School District

In this week’s levy update, let’s recap the key points of the Educational Programs & Operations replacement levy and offer an opportunity to ask any questions about this upcoming ballot measure.

• Not a new tax: This Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy replaces a four-year levy that expires after 2024.

• Bridges a funding gap: Local levy dollars make up over 16% of the School District budget, bridging the ongoing gap between what the state funds and what it actually costs to deliver on our commitment to offer each student a quality education, safe environments for learning, and resources for well-being.

• What will the levy pay for? This levy helps to pay for staffing and operations that are unfunded — or underfunded — by the state, including all of our sports funding, most safety and security personnel, and many other staffing costs such as teaching, nursing, and counseling.

• How do property values affect the levy? For levies, voters approve a set total dollar amount that can be collected for the year. We cannot collect more than what voters approved. So, even as property values go up or down, tax rates are adjusted accordingly to ensure the total amount we can collect doesn’t change from what voters approve.

• What will this levy cost? The estimated rate is $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Voters last approved this levy in 2020 at a rate of $1.57 per $1,000 of assessed property value during the first year of collection in 2021.