Othello schools EP&O levy proposal on February ballot

OTHELLO — Othello School District voters will be asked to accept or reject an educational programs and operations levy in February 2026. The community committee formed to help determine an EP&O levy amount is also being asked to come up with a plan to look at OSD facility needs.  

“The first need is the levy,” said Othello Superintendent Pete Perez. 

It would replace a three-year levy approved by OSD voters in 2023. If Othello School Board members approve it, the proposal would go before voters Feb. 10. Because it’s an EP&O levy, the proposal would require a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass. While the community committee was looking at that, district officials asked its participants to look at the longer-term picture as well, Perez said. 

The EP&O levy money is used to plug the gaps between state and federal funding and the actual cost to provide some programs. It also pays for extracurricular activities, which the state doesn’t fund at all.  

The community committee has met three times to discuss the levy and the longer-term needs, Perez said. Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek told school board members in October that district officials want to focus their efforts. 

“We have all these different factors playing in,” Meek said.  

The EP&O levy is different from a capital levy, which pays for specific projects like smaller renovation projects or more security, according to information from the Washington Association of School Administrators. A capital bond is different than both, paying for remodeling existing buildings or building new ones. 

Meek said each one has its own time frame, which can make it difficult to consider how each request to voters ties in with the others. The goal of the “Future Ready Schools” group is to look at the options and see how they work together.  

“Our proposal is to think of that as a connected effort, so we’re not having all these different groups going in different directions,” Meek said.  

The community committee will talk with board members about their longer-term recommendations at the Dec. 8 meeting, Perez said.  

Meek said the time frame under study is 2026-29. One of OSD’s outstanding construction bonds is paid off in 2027, he said, and the district will be eligible for state funding to pay part of the cost of some remodeling in 2029. If board members opt for a three-year EP&O levy in 2026 and it passes, that would be up for renewal in 2029.  

“The idea is that we work together so we have a coherent plan,” Meek said.  

District officials have projected a decline in student enrollment. In light of that, Perez said the focus of a capital bond would be remodeling existing OSD buildings. One facility is at the top of the list. 

“It’s the timing and age of Othello High School,” Perez said.  

Different sections of OHS were built at different times; some sections of the building, but not all of it, will be eligible for some state construction money in 2029. Perez said the district probably wouldn’t be eligible for a 50-50 match, but OSD would get some money. 

“The formula at that time will toss out that number, and hopefully it’s a high one,” Perez said. 

    If, and how, to remodel Othello High School, and how to pay for it, is one of the focuses of a longer-term study by a community committee.