Ferndale schools putting two-year levy request on Feb. ballot

KIRA M. COX - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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FERNDALE - Ferndale School District will ask voters to approve a two-year maintenance and operations levy this winter to replace the one that expires at the end of 2010.

The School Board unanimously agreed to put the levy request on the Feb. 9 ballot. Levies need a simple majority to pass.

The current levy was passed in 2006 and will bring in about $10.3 million, about 20 percent of the district's annual budget, next year.

Washington state's education funding formula doesn't provide enough money to school districts for current levels of staffing and services, so districts to rely on local levies to fill the gap. Maintenance and operations levies are routine requests that help districts pay for teachers, smaller classes, transportation, utility costs, music and the arts, and other daily costs.

The exact dollar amount of the levy, and the impact on homeowners' property taxes, is still being calculated. Tax rate estimates, and the overall levy amount, will be discussed and voted on at the board's Dec. 17 meeting.

District homeowners currently pay $3.89 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value, or about $1,167 for the owner of a home assessed at $300,000.

Of the $3.89, about 18 cents is for a six-year technology levy that voters approved last year; 99 cents is for the $32 million bond measure that voters approved three years ago; and $2.72 is for the current maintenance and operations levy.

With levies, voters approve a fixed dollar amount for collection, which is spread amongst all district taxpayers based on assessed property values. If the number of taxpayers changes, the rate is adjusted but the dollar amount stays the same.

Ferndale's levy request is the third school-related measure on the Feb. 9 ballot. Lynden School District wants voters to also approve a two-year maintenance and operations levy, and Meridian School District is seeking approval of a $17 million bond.

LEVY DETAILS

For details about the Ferndale schools levy, go to ferndale.wednet.edu.