Local school levies fund student opportunities, strong communities | Opinion
Thurston County voters should be receiving special election ballots from school districts seeking local funding measures for students and schools.
In the Feb. 13 election, all eight Thurston County school districts are seeking Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) replacement levies. These levies would not be new taxes — they replace expiring local levies that were approved by voters in prior years. EP&O levies fund learning programs, adequate staffing and day-to-day school needs such as textbooks and instructional materials not funded by the state.
Some of our districts — Griffin, North Thurston, Rainier, and Rochester — also are asking for bonds or capital levies to reinvest in school buildings, replace aging schools and technology, add classroom space, and make safety improvements. The state doesn’t provide funding for major school rebuilding projects but does provide some financial assistance when local voters approve construction projects.
The state does not fully fund the cost to provide public education to our students. The state’s enrollment-based “prototypical funding model” helps fund services such as school nurses, physical and occupational therapists, counselors, and school safety officers. Unfortunately, these staffing levels are inadequate to meet today’s student needs. Our school districts rely on local levies to provide sufficient staff, programs, and educational opportunities for our students.
Here are some specific examples of how local levies help us fill in the funding gaps. Although these are specific numbers, these examples are relevant for all our districts:
▪ Special education: For North Thurston Public Schools, the state provides $32 million for special education services, and the students need $45.7 million. That is a $13.7 million funding gap made up by the district’s local levy.
▪ Paraeducators: For Olympia School District, the state funds 15 general education paraeducators to serve nearly 9,000 students. The district employees 42.
▪ Support staff: For Tumwater School District, levy dollars make up a significant amount of the funding for positions such as nurses, paraeducators, counselors, librarians, custodians, and safety personnel. The state funds 58.6 of these positions, while the district employs 176.1, thanks to continued levy funding.
▪ Health and safety: For Yelm Community Schools, the state funds 7.5 nurses, health room techs, campus security positions, and school resource officers. The levy supports 14.5 more positions to ensure students receive services equally across the district.
▪ Arts and athletics: The state does not provide any funding for athletics and other co-curricular activities such as music. All of this is funded by local levies.
Local levies fund a variety of student opportunities: robotics, music, theater, science, technology, engineering, math, career and technical education programs, and special education. Voter-approved dollars also help pay for nutrition and transportation services.
While we continue to work with our state Legislature to ensure our schools receive the funding needed for students to succeed, levies remain a critical part of our funding structure.
We are grateful that Thurston County residents understand the value that high-quality K-12 education brings to our communities. We are educating the next generation of leaders, and strong schools help us build vibrant communities and a bright future.
Please learn more about each of our districts, our successes, and our funding needs. And please remember to turn in your ballots by Feb. 13.
This column was submitted by Chris Rust, Griffin School District; Debra Clemens, North Thurston Public Schools; Patrick Murphy, Olympia School District; Bryon Bahr, Rainier School District; Jennifer Bethman, Rochester School District; Clint Endicott, Tenino School District; Kevin Bogatin, Tumwater School District; and Chris Woods, Yelm Community Schools.