Battle Ground Public Schools replacement levy to go to voters

Voters in Battle Ground will decide in February whether to approve a four-year Educational Programs and Operations levy to replace the current levy that expires at the end of 2021.

The Battle Ground Public Schools Board of Directors voted at Monday’s regular school board meeting to put a replacement levy that features a lower tax rate in 2022 before voters in the Feb. 9 special election.

The board voted to dip into the district’s rainy-day reserves fund to drop the levy rate 39 cents in 2022 — the first year of the four-year levy — compared with 2021.

The local levy rate is projected to be $1.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2022, down from the current rate of $2.34 per $1,000 of assessed property value. After 2022, the levy rate is projected to climb to $2.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value through 2025.

If approved, the levy would allow the district to maintain educational programs, day-to-day operations and building maintenance, according to Battle Ground Public Schools.

“The levy covers the needs of the district,” board member Monty Anderson said in a news release. “We tried to look at it in several ways for the community and give a good solid package that would be supported.”

The current operations levy was passed by voters in 2017.