Educational programs and operations levy proposal goes to Wahluke voters Feb. 10

MATTAWA — Wahluke School District voters will decide the fate of a four-year educational programs and operations levy in a special election Feb. 10. If it’s approved, it would replace the four-year levy approved by voters in 2022. Property owners would pay an estimated $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, the same as the current levy. District superintendent Andy Harlow said that due to the way taxes are structured, the proposed rate can change as property values change. 

“We actually only had to collect (about) $2.30,” Harlow said.  

Most Washington school districts ask voters for EP&O levies. Levy money isn’t subject to many of the regulations that accompany state or federal funding, so it’s used to pay for programs that aren’t fully paid for through state apportionment or federal programs, or not funded at all. At Wahluke, most of the money goes to student programs such as extracurricular activities.  

The EP&O levy is different than the three-year capital levy approved by district voters in 2024, which is paying for specific projects, Harlow said.  

If the EP&O levy is approved, it will generate $3 million in 2027, $3.15 million in 2028, $3.3 million in 2029 and $3.47 million in 2030. A person who owned property valued at $200,000 would keep paying $500 per year in taxes. Property owners with land valued at $300,000 per year would pay $750 per year in taxes.  

Wahluke would be eligible for an estimated $3.1 million per year in additional funding from the state as part of the levy equalization program. Levy equalization provides extra state funding for districts that pass a levy but have lower property values in relation to other districts.  

“We have to pass this levy to get our enhancement dollars,” Harlow said.  

Some levy money is used to plug funding gaps; Harlow cited the school nurse program as an example. 

“We only get paid for 80% of a nurse,” he said.  

The EP&O levy makes up the remaining 20%, Harlow said. Most of it, however, goes to fund student programs such as extracurricular activities. 

“These are the big ones. These are all the things we do for kids,” Harlow said. 

Levy money pays for all extracurricular activities, including Wahluke High School and Wahluke Junior High sports programs, clubs such as FBLA and FFA, music and drama competitions and performances. Activities like elementary school robotics and field trips are also funded through the levy. Harlow said the levy pays for some things that people don’t always think about, citing extracurricular trips as an example.  

While the state allocates money to pay for student transportation, those funds can’t be used for a field trip or an away game, Harlow said. Paying the bus driver comes out of the levy, he said.  

Ballots will be mailed to district voters in mid-February and must be postmarked by Feb. 10 to be counted. 

    Face painting at Saddle Mountain Elementary is one of the activities provided by the Wahluke High School Hope Squad and Warriors Unidos Prevention Club, which are funded through the district’s educational programs and operations levy.