Quincy voters to consider school EP&O levy Feb. 10

QUINCY — Ballots are scheduled to be mailed next week for a special election that will decide the fate of a four-year educational programs and operations levy proposal from the Quincy School District. If ballots are mailed, they must be postmarked by Feb. 10. 

District superintendent Nik Bergman said levy money is used to pay for programs and activities that QSD officials – and district residents – think are important, but that aren’t adequately funded by the state in the opinion of district officials, or aren’t funded at all.  

“There are programs that sit outside of what we’re funded for,” Bergman said.  

If the levy is approved, property owners would pay an estimated $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value all four years. A person owning property valued at $250,000 would pay about $312.50 in taxes, while a property owner with land valued at $350,000 would pay about $437.50 in taxes. If it’s approved, the levy is projected to generate about $10.7 million in 2027, $11 million in 2028, $11.3 million in 2029 and $11.7 million in 2030.  

Bergman estimated the levy accounts for about 16% of the district’s operating budget. Quincy does not qualify for levy equalization. 

“What we get from this levy is what we receive in levy dollars,” Bergman said in an earlier interview. “We don’t receive levy equalization (and haven’t) for some time now because of our high assessed values here in Quincy.” 

Because the EP&O levy is locally funded, the money is subject to fewer restrictions than state and federal funding. It can be used to pay for programs that district officials and QSD residents think the district needs, but that for one reason or another aren’t paid for with other funding sources. 

Bergman cited QSD’s elementary science, technology, engineering, art and math program as an example. An elementary STEAM program isn’t considered part of basic education, Bergman said, so QSD’s program is funded through the levy.  

Part of Quincy’s security program is paid for through the levy, Bergman said, including its school resource officer and school safety officer, staffed in cooperation with the Quincy Police Department. Money generated through the levy pays for both positions.  

Levy funds are also used to pay for extracurricular activities at all grade levels, from elementary activities to high school clubs to all QSD athletics. Levy money also pays for transportation for extracurricular activities. 

The Washington Legislature has worked to increase funding for special education, Bergman said, which has been a help, but the state might not be in a position right now to do that for other programs.  

If they’re mailed, ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 10 to be counted, and Ben Rodwell, elections deputy for Grant County, said mailing them at the post office on Election Day doesn’t guarantee that. 

“I would say (mail the ballot) at least a week early,” Rodwell said in an earlier interview. “I wouldn’t recommend mailing it the day of the election.” 

Voters can take the ballot to the post office window and have it postmarked there, he said. Otherwise, it may take a day or two to be postmarked.  

Grant County maintains ballot drop-off boxes throughout the county, including Quincy. It’s at 208 Central Ave. South, in the parking lot of the Quincy Public Library. In George, it’s ag the George City Hall, 102 Richmond Ave. In Ephrata, it’s at the Grant County Courthouse, C St. Northwest, in parking lot A. 

    Quincy High School’s Gabriela Lopez intercepts the ball during a game in fall 2025. In February voters will decide the fate of the Quincy School District’s educational programs and operations levy proposal, which funds high school athletics and activities among other things.