MLSD levy voted down for second time

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District educational programs and operations levy was voted down a second time in Tuesday’s special election.

District voters rejected the levy by a vote of 3,947 against to 3,094, or 56.06% to 43.94%, according to the Grant County Auditor’s Office. That margin was even greater than the 3,758-3,611 vote that defeated the levy in the Feb. 13 election.

Turnout for the April election was slightly below the February election. In February, 7,569 voters cast ballots, compared to 7,041 in April. 

“Unfortunately, it appears the renewal of the Educational Programs and Operations Levy fell short of the votes needed to pass,” MLSD spokesperson Claren McLaughlin wrote in a statement Wednesday morning. “The state does not fully fund K-12 education. School districts like Moses Lake rely on local voter-approved levies to bridge the gap between what the state funds and what our students need.”

The EP&O levy worked out to about 10% of the district’s budget, Superintendent Monty Sabin told the Columbia Basin Herald in an interview in February. It funds all extracurricular activities and supplements the cost of nurses, counselors and school resource officers. If it had passed, property owners would have paid $2 per year per $1,000 of assessed value for two years, which was projected to raise $15.78 million in the first year and $18.94 million in the second.

“This levy would have continued funding for the safety and health of students and schools, including funding for school resource officers, nurses, counselors and librarians,” McLaughlin wrote. “The levy also would have continued funding for maintenance of school buildings and student opportunities, like arts, music, theater and athletics, which the state does not fund.”

Lack of funding from the levy will have consequences, district officials said.

“We needed it to pass,” Sabin said. “We knew if it didn't pass, then we would have to make these tough decisions on our budget and what we can offer our kids.”

Moses Lake’s school levies have consistently passed since at least 2009, the earliest year for which the Assessor’s Office website had archived results. This leaves the district with some unprecedented decisions to make, Sabin said.

“During our communications (with the public) regarding what the levy funds, we really detailed those programs and staffing that the levy provides,” Sabin said Wednesday. “So we'll take a look at those areas and … we'll determine a process and again, do our homework on the actual dollar amounts for some of these areas of services, programs and staffing.”

Sabin said it’s too early to be certain which programs will experience cuts, and how deeply.

By law, the district cannot put another levy in front of the voters until February 2025. 

“I think there's still some hurdles in this community that we still have to overcome, and sometimes things just take time,” Sabin said. “I think there's still people (who) have a lack of trust with the district for past events or decisions, and trust just takes time to build. So that's what we hope for with consistent actions over time with predictable good behavior that will continue to earn the trust back from the community.”

MLSD administrators expressed appreciation for community engagement in the levy election process.

“A huge thank you to the staff, families and community who attended meetings, asked questions, took our survey and provided feedback on our levy request,” McLaughlin wrote. “We will continue to focus our efforts and dedication to the success and well-being of all our students.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.