Budget: Bond/Levy Information

Local Levies and Bonds Fill State Funding Gap

The questions are asked every time a local levy or bond measure appears on the ballot: Why are schools always asking for more tax money? Don’t they get money from the state to run our schools? Here is a quick look at how school funding is structured.

Why does Tahoma need local levy and bond money?
Like most other public school districts in Washington, Tahoma relies on local levy dollars to pay for staffing, supplies and programs that are not funded or inadequately funded by the state or federal governments. In Tahoma about 72 percent of the district’s General Fund is provided by the state. Federal funds, mostly for special education and other specialized programs, account for about 4 percent of the budget. Most of the remaining budget is provided by local funding, the majority of which is produced by voter-approved levies.

What do levies and bonds pay for?
Local levies pay for a variety of programs, equipment and staff an annual basis; whatever is collected is spent that year. The majority of the district’s computers, software and related equipment was purchased with levy funds. Levies also pay for paraeducators and specialists (such as speech therapists and school nurses), supplement special education and pay for all extracurricular activities such as athletics. Currently, Tahoma is collecting funds from two levies: a four-year Operations and Educational Programs Levy and a four-year Technology Levy. Both levies expire at the end of 2010. On Feb. 9, 2010, voters will be asked to approve a four-year renewal of those levies.

Bond measures are the equivalent of a long-term loan to pay for large items such as school construction or remodeling. School districts sell bonds to raise money for a specific project and local taxpayers repay the bonds over a number of years. Tahoma is considering a bond measure for 2011 to add classroom space and pay for major school-maintenance projects.