LAUREL - Meridian School District voters are being asked to approve a four-year maintenance and operations levy to help pay for the cost of education.

If it gets the OK on Feb. 14, the measure would bring in a little more than $3.7 million in 2013 to a little more than $4 million in 2016.

The levy would replace one that expires at the end of 2012 and makes up about 25 percent of the school district's operating budget.

It needs a simple majority of 50.1 percent to pass.

Property owners are being asked for more money as Meridian anticipates continued losses in funding, including for state levy equalization dollars, and plans for the worst-case scenario.

Funding losses are a common concern for all seven school districts in Whatcom County that have levies or bonds on the Feb. 14 ballot and that, as a result, are leaning more on local dollars.

"We understand that taxes are tough, but those taxes are really making an improvement in the community. We believe great schools help everybody's property values," said Tim Yeomans, superintendent for Meridian School District.

The district is asking for additional money - about $900,000 more in 2013 - out of fear that the state will cut all or part of levy equalization funding, which helps property-tax poor districts that can't raise much revenue through taxes.

"It's the pending state reductions that drive our levy request," Yeomans said.

Meridian receives about $850,000 a year in levy equalization funding. The remaining added dollars would pay for increasing costs for things like utilities, fuel for transportation and pension obligations.

If approved by voters, the proposed overall tax rate for 2013 would be $4.87 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value - or 92 cents more than 2012.

So the owner of a $200,000 home would pay about $184 more in property taxes in 2013 than in 2012.

That overall tax rate includes a little more than $1 per $1,000 of assessed value for a bond that voters approved in February 2010 to renovate aging Meridian High School and Irene Reither Primary School.

In discussing the levy request, Yeomans stressed that school officials have been careful with the money taxpayers have provided for education.

"We're being the best stewards we can with the money and we're improving the educational program with the support that the community provides," he said.

The district has, for example, switched over to using Google for many of its computer applications, saving more than $35,000 a year over the last four years.

Other projects have included replacing lighting in one of its elementary schools, saving $300 to $350 a month in electricity costs, and upgrading to fuel-efficient buses - without going to taxpayers for extra money.

The levy also is an important piece of providing for student involvement, including athletics.

"Out here having kids involved is a very important job," Yeomans said.

In noting the district's effectiveness, he said that officials managed to leverage the $17 million bond approved by voters to get additional money from the state for the nearly $41 million project for the high school and Irene Reither. And, he added, the district's certificated staffing level - mainly teachers and counselors - is at "the absolute most frugal it could be."

"There's no frills. Everybody's working hard," he said.

As a point of reference, he said in 2002 that the overall tax rate - a combination of bond and levy - was $6.47 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value

When voters approve a levy, they are approving the maximum amount of money a district can collect in property taxes from residents. The tax rate may fluctuate, but the bottom-line amount the district receives can't be above what voters approve.

MERIDIAN LEVY FACTS

Here's a quick look at the overall estimated tax rates property owners in Meridian School District would pay if voters on Feb. 14 approve a replacement levy for maintenance and operations.

• 2013: $4.87 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value.*

• 2014: $5.02.

• 2015: $5.17.

• 2016: $5.33.

*The projected tax rate includes a bond, which adds $1.05 in 2013 to $1.20 in 2016 per $1,000 of a home's assessed value.

Learn more online at meridian.wednet.edu.