Warden schools EP&O levy on the ballot

WARDEN — Voters in Warden School District will decide on a two-year educational programs and operations levy during the general election next Tuesday.

Under the levy, if it’s approved, property owners would pay an estimated $2 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which means the owner of a house valued at $250,000 would pay $500 per year in property taxes. The levy would generate $1,082,316 in 2021 and $1,168,901 in 2022.

Because it’s a school EP&O levy, it requires a bare majority, 50 percent plus one vote, to be approved.

The levy would replace the maintenance and operations levy approved by voters in 2018. That same year the Washington Legislature revised the programs that could be funded through the levy, which changed the name of the levy itself.

The district would be eligible for an estimated $836,895 in levy equalization funding from the state if the levy passes. Levy equalization is a state program that provides extra state funding for districts that pass a levy but have relatively lower property values.

The levy includes money for some teaching and counseling positions, custodians and the school nurse, among other personnel. Levy money goes into updating curriculum and technology and the district’s early learning programs among other things.

All extracurricular activities are funded through levy money, including all middle school and high school sports as well as elementary school field trips, high school clubs like FFA and programs like middle school and high school band.