Levies & Bonds

No. Washington is only legally required to fully fund what they define to be “basic education” based on a funding distribution formula referred to as the “prototypical model.” This model represents the Legislature’s assumptions about the costs associated with providing a “basic education” to students. Because the funding comes by way of a formula, it often supports only part of the staffing or other services required in a school. For example, in a local school district with 10,000 students, the state formula only provides funding for 1.5 school nurses. The district may actually need 4 nurses, which would have to be paid for out of local levy funds and not state funds. Another example is safety and security staff. For every 430 students, the prototypical model funds one safety and security staff member.

Yes, but the funding does not cover the actual costs of operating a school district. The Washington State Supreme Court decision on the McCleary lawsuit resulted in public school districts seeing a net funding increase in 2018. Even though the state increased the amount of funding it was providing to school districts, it also capped the amount of funding school districts can raise from local levies. The Legislature also applied restrictions to how funding can be used. For local school districts, this means that levies have been significantly impacted, causing widespread confusion in communities across the state.

A levy rate is the amount of property tax collected per $1,000 of assessed property value. The money collected is used to fund a voter-approved total levy collection amount over a series of years.

Example: If a homeowner has a home valued at $200,000 and the levy rate is $1.00 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, the homeowner will pay $200 annually in property taxes.

Depending on the type of levy, voters can approve levies for one to six years. Enrichment (or EP&O) levies can be approved for up to four years.  After the allotted number of years, the levy expires.Districts may then go back to their voters and ask for a renewal of the levy, often referred to as a replacement levy.

Tahoma voters approved a four-year renewal of our EP&O and Tech levies in February 2026.

Yes. There is a maximum dollar amount per $1,000 of assessed property value that can be raised by a local community, known as the “Levy Lid.” As part of the changes the Legislature made to the way the state funds education in Washington, also known as the “McCleary decision,” a local community’s ability to approve a levy rate is capped at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value or no more than $2,500 per student maximum, (whichever is greater) a dollar threshold which is adjusted annually based on inflation.

Tahoma School District's current Enrichment levy rate is $2.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which is below the state limit. Our tech levy rate is $0.39 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Yes! Washington State law provides two tax benefit programs for senior citizens and individuals who are disabled: property tax exemptions and property tax deferrals. For more information on qualifications, please contact the King County Assessor's Office.