Moses Lake schools face stark levy choice

MOSES LAKE — Despite the promise of increased school funding from Olympia, the Moses Lake School District is very likely going to face some tough spending choices in the next few years, especially regarding athletics and music programs.

Speaking at a study session Thursday evening, superintendent Josh Meek said the effort by the state legislature to provide more funding from Olympia for basic education will reduce the amount of money local districts can raise from local levies, reducing local control over how money for education is spent.

The board needs to pass a levy this year, though it will not take effect until the beginning of 2019. And it will raise significantly less than the current levy.

“What we can by law levy is reduced,” Meek said. “It drastically decreases what districts can do, though it also lowers tax rates.”

Meek was referring to the state legislature’s “McCleary Fix,” a response to a state Supreme Court ruling from early 2012 that the legislature failed in its constitutional duty to “make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”

To solve the problem, in 2017 the legislature simultaneously raised the state school levy to $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed value — currently $2.31 in Grant County — while capping the local district levy at $1.50. The current Moses Lake school levy, which was passed in 2015 and expires at the end of 2018, is $4.54, and raised about $17.8 million in 2017.

Under the new formula, that levy is expected to raise around $6 million, depending on the total valuation of land in the Moses Lake School District.

“And we have had wildly varying land values,” Meek said, noting that 2013 assessed land value fell 15 percent from the previous year, whereas in 2016 they rose 9 percent.

According to Meek, the board has until Feb. 23 to approve a levy resolution for a late April ballot. Any later, and it is possible the district will not have a levy in place by the time the 2018-19 school year starts in September.

“Traditionally, we run a three-year levy. The last one was in 2015, but a lot of districts are running theirs for less to give them time to act on changes if the law is changed,” Meek said.

“You can run a supplemental levy, but it costs $18,000-$20,000 to run an election, and the district pays those costs to the county,” he said.

The state would provide over $6 million matching funds for a “property-poor” district like Moses Lake, Meek said, but only if a levy is enacted.

“So, if it’s not passed, we will lose $13 million in funding,” said board member Elliott Goodrich.

However, that’s still nearly $5 million less than the current local levy, which pays for programs like athletics and music — programs increased state funding won’t pay for, Meek said.

“Most state money is earmarked, and I’m concerned about local control,” Meek said. “Athletics is fully funded by the (local) levy.

“We value extracurricular activities. They are difference makers. They are critical,” Meek added.

So even with increased state funding, the Moses Lake School District may face imposing fees for athletics and art programs — what Meek called “pay to play” — or cutting those programs back.

“We will need to cut some things,” said board member Vicky Groff, addressing the large crowd gathered to listen to the study session. “This will be very difficult for us as a community to reduce the quality of programs, things we decided as a community we wanted.”

The board did not come to a consensus on a two-year or three-year levy, but will decide the matter at its Feb. 8 regular meeting.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.