Forks schools to ask for levy

Measure on Feb. 11 special election ballot

PORT ANGELES — Voters in the Quillayute Valley School District will be asked to decide on a four-year, $6 million levy that will be on the Feb. 11 special election ballot.

It would replace QVSD’s current levy that expires at the end of the year.

The replacement levy would raise $1.51 million annually through 2029. The estimated tax rate would be $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2026; $1.40 in 2027; $1.26 in 2028 and $1.13 in 2029.

Choosing the $1.50 rate was strategic, QVSD Superintendent Diana Reaume said, because it will enable the district to obtain state Local Effort Assistance funding, which supplements what property-poor districts like QVSD can raise locally.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

In order to qualify for LEA funding, a property-poor district must have a collection rate of $1.50. Because QVSD’s levy rate has fallen to 81 cents per $1,000, it has been losing out on about $2.5 million in LEA funding annually, Reaume said.

“By levying $1.5 million from our taxpayers, we get about $5.7 million additional LEA dollars a year,” Reaume said. “That equals $20.5 million in LEA funding over the next four years.”

That’s 3½ times the return on taxpayer investment, she said.

Passing the levy also will enable the district to continue collecting timber revenue.

“Every four years, we get about a million in timber dollars, so that’s an additional $4 million on top of the $25.5 million in LEA dollars if we collect at that ($1.50) rate,” she said.

Maximizing state funding while being mindful of the burden on taxpayers was important to the board when it came to a decision about the levy by keeping the collection amount down as much as possible, Reaume said.

EP&O levies are critical to the district because they support student programs and activities, as well as maintenance projects, the state doesn’t pay for.

“It funds 100 percent of our athletics,” Reaume said. “We don’t want to charge our kids to play.”

The QVSD levy also funds drama and music, laptops and routine building repairs. Coming up are projects to upgrade the phone system, resurface Spartan Field’s track, purchase cardio equipment for the high school and install new rooftop heat pumps at the elementary school.

Twenty-three percent of QVSD staff is funded through its levy.

The levies voters approve also enable the district to share its facilities to local groups at no cost.

“We really believe this is a community-based place where the Little League can play and any of our organizations can have a quilt show or a scholarship auction,” Reaume said. “Our schools are open for them.”

Reaume will speak about the levy Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at the West End Business Association at the Forks Congregational Church, 280 Spartan Ave., and at noon at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Blakeslee’s Bar & Grill, 1222 S. Forks Ave.

Information about the QVSD replacement levy can be found at tinyurl.com/2r73n6cs.

________

Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Rikki Rodger, left, holds a foam float, and Mark Stevenson and Sara Ybarra Lopez drop off 9.2 pounds of trash and debris they collected at Kai Tai Lagoon in Port Townsend during the Port Townsend Marine Science Center Earth Day Beach Cleanup event Saturday at Fort Worden State Park. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Beach cleanup

Rikki Rodger, left, holds a foam float, and Mark Stevenson and Sara… Continue reading

Emily Randall.
Randall reflects on first 100 days

Public engagement cited as top priority

Sequim company manufactures slings for its worldwide market

Heavy-duty rigging includes windmills, construction sites

Legislature hearing wide range of bills

Property tax, housing could impact Peninsula

Jefferson County adjusts budget appropriations

Money for parks, coroner and substance abuse treatment in jail

Motorcycle rider airlifted to Seattle hospital

A Sequim man was airlifted to a Seattle hospital after… Continue reading

Charter Review town hall committee to meet Wednesday

The Clallam County Charter Review Commission Town Hall Committee… Continue reading

Port Angeles High School jazz band second at Lionel Hampton festival

The Port Angeles High School jazz band placed second… Continue reading

This excited toddler is focused on his next prize and misses the ones right in front of him during the 95th annual Port Townsend Elks Club Easter Egg Hunt at Chetzemoka Park on Sunday. Volunteers hid more than 1,500 plastic eggs around the park with some redeemable for prizes. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
On the hunt

This excited toddler is focused on his next prize and misses the… Continue reading

Policy to opt out of meters updated

Clallam PUD to install digital instead of analog

Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Scott Burgett and Linda Kahananui are members of Dark Sky International who are working to spread awareness about how to be mindful with artificial lighting at night.
Scott Burgett and Linda Kahananui are members of Dark Sky International who are working to spread awareness about how to be mindful with artificial lighting at night. (Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
International Dark Sky Week to be celebrated

Peninsula residents raise awareness of artificial light pollution

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading