Local school districts hope voters will show them some love this Valentine’s Day, as seven districts are asking for school funding measures in this upcoming special election.
Vancouver and Ridgefield school districts are asking voters in their respective districts to approve bond measures which will build new schools and replace aging facilities.
Battle Ground, Camas, Washougal and Woodland public schools are asking voters to approve maintenance and operations levies to support educational programs.
Camas and Washougal are also asking voters to approve a technology levy, and the Hockinson School District is requesting funds for improvements at the Hockinson High School main athletic field.
Ballots were issued last week to 183,077 eligible voters in Clark County. As of Thursday, 20,641 voters had returned their ballots.
Only those voters who live in those districts will vote in the Feb. 14 election. Ballots must be postmarked by that Tuesday or put in a voter drop box by 8 p.m. that day.
Bonds
Vancouver is asking for a $458 million construction bond. If approved, the bond would increase the tax rate by 9 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for three years. When combined with existing bonds, the rate is projected to be $1.52 per $1,000 of assessed value from 2018 to 2020, then drop to $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed value starting in 2021.
The district plans to build three new schools, replace eight and do improvement and modernization projects at 30 campuses and other facilities.
Ridgefield is asking for a $78 million bond that is projected to increase the tax rate by 77 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current rate is $1.41 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The largest project will be a new grades 5-8 campus across South Hillhurst Road from Ridgefield High School.
Bonds must be approved by a 60 percent supermajority, per state law, and at least 40 percent of eligible voters who voted in last year’s presidential election must vote to make the results valid.
Levies
Several districts are also asking for levies to support day-to-day school operations and some special projects.
Districts do not control the actual levy rates. They are calculated based on assessed property values within the district and the overall funding amount the district is asking.
Battle Ground is asking voters to approve a $136.54 million levy. The levy would collect about $31.7 million, $33.3 million, $34.9 million and $36.7 million over each of the next four years. The district estimates residents will pay $3.66 per $1,000 in assessed value. That’s the same rate Battle Ground property owners paid this year.
Camas is asking for a $67.4 million maintenance and operations levy, which would collect about $16.1 million, $16.6 million, $17.1 million and $17.6 million over the next four years. A technology levy would bring in $1.7 million, $1.75 million, $1.80 million and $1.85 million.
The district estimates residents would pay 6 cents more a year if the two replacement levies pass, meaning the district’s projected rate would increase to $6.31 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current rate is $6.25 per $1,000 of assessed value. In the levies’ fourth year, the district estimates the rate will go down to $5.83 per $1,000 due to paying off bond debt.
Washougal is asking voters to approve a three-year maintenance and operations levy and a three-year technology levy.
The maintenance levy would collect about $23.4 million: $7.6 million in the first year, $7.8 million in 2019 and almost $8 million in 2020. The technology levy, meanwhile, would bring in $775,000 in 2018, $800,000 in 2019 and $820,000 in 2020, for a total of about $2.4 million.
Combined, the levy rate is estimated to be $3.21 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Woodland is asking residents to approve a $14.3 million, three-year levy. The levy will bring in $4.5 million in 2018, $4.8 million in 2019 and $5 in 2020.
The district projects a tax rate of $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed value for the first two years, and $2.69 for the last year.
Capital levy
The Hockinson School District, where officials are putting a capital projects levy up for a vote, hopes to spend a $1.5 million, six-year levy on a new athletic field. The levy, which will ask for $250,000 each year, will allow the district to install synthetic turf and resurface the track.
The district projects levy rates will be 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for 2018, 18 cents per $1,000 for 2019 and 2020, 17 cents per $1,000 for 2021 and 2022 and 16 cents per $1,000 for 2023.
Adam Littman of The Columbian contributed to this report.
