Othello High next focus with EP&O levy passing

OTHELLO — Voters in the Othello School District are approving a four-year educational programs and operations levy in updated vote totals from the Feb. 10 special election released Friday. The levy proposal had 794 yes votes and 434 no votes, about 64.7% approving. Because it was a school levy, it needed a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass.  

Othello Superintendent Pete Perez said passage of the levy allows OSD officials to plan ahead. 

“The theme we tried to share with folks was around stability,” Perez said.  “Programs and initiatives and things that we know are important for our students, we're able to continue providing those with some security for the next four years. That (four-year) time span and the investment from the community in the district allows us to be more stable, I guess is the key word for us.” 

The district was asking for $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, a rate unchanged from the levy approved by voters in 2023. The levy is projected to raise about $4.2 million in 2027, about $4.6 million in 2028, about $5 million in 2029 and $5.5 million in 2030. 

Othello is also eligible for levy equalization, which is additional state funding provided to districts with relatively lower property values that pass a levy. Over the four years, the district is estimated to be eligible for about $26.1 million in levy equalization.  

About 55% of Othello’s levy money is spent on staffing, Perez said. 

“It just allows us to provide what is probably a more realistic whole child experience than the state currently funds,” he said. 

State school funding has changed over time, and that has changed how districts use levy funding. 

“When (funding mechanisms changed) and the state salary schedule went away and school districts across the state were now 295 entities bargaining individually, some districts were able to access those levy funds to enhance teacher contracts,” Perez said. “To keep up, it really forced everyone to have to consider how to use those (levy) funds. In the last decade, for sure, that's been a game changer.”  

District officials started what they called the “Future-Ready Schools Team” to make recommendations for the levy proposal, but that was only part of their job. Perez said the rest of its job is to think – and look – ahead and find ways to address some of the district’s facility needs. 

Othello will be eligible for state money to make improvements to Othello High School, Perez said, and over the next two years the committee will be asked to come up with some options. The high school is too small for its present enrollment, he said.  

Like school districts across the state, Othello’s enrollment is dropping, but even with a smaller high school enrollment eventually, OHS still needs some work, he said. 

“We think our numbers are going to drop in the five to 10 years, down to more of that 1,000 (to) 1,200 kids. A few hundred less kids, but still pretty crowded,” Perez said. 

As of now the options are wide open, he said. Part of the committee’s work will be to determine if the community would prefer to build a new high school or remodel the existing site.  

“In a community the size of Othello, that’s a really large site to abandon,” he said. 

The district does have some land north of town, purchased about a decade ago. 

“When a different board and different superintendent bought some land, the full intent was to have land in inventory to build the next high school. That was the thinking then; doesn't mean that's the thinking now,” Perez said. “It'll come down to what makes sense financially.”  

    Othello School District Superintendent Pete Perez, pictured, said the approval of the district’s levy request will help ensure financial stability for the district over the next four years.