Replacement Levy Information

Replacement Levy Information

The Evergreen Public Schools' Board of Directors recently voted to place a two-year replacement maintenance and operations levy on the Feb. 9 ballot.

We will be placing information and facts regarding the levy on this page from time to time.

If you have questions, please call 604-4134 or email election@evergreenps.org.

Key Benefits:

This levy replaces the levy approved by voters in 2006 and fills the gap between what the state funds and what it actually costs to maintain Evergreen Public Schools’ current educational program. Funds from the current levy allow the district to pay for part or all of a variety of instructional services and programs, including:

Approximately 200 instructional (certificated) staff
Textbooks and supplies
Extracurricular activities – such as athletics, music and clubs
Up to 140 classified staff – including clerical, maintenance and campus security
Transportation – for elementary students who live more than a half-mile from school
EXCEL (program for highly capable students)
Some English Language Learners’ and Special Education programs
Secondary electives – including some advanced placement (AP), music and career and technical education classes
Library materials
Maintenance – grounds and building
Classroom technology

If approved by voters, the two-year levy will raise $40.8 million in 2011 and $41.5 million in 2012.

Is this levy necessary?
A replacement levy is necessary to fill the gap between what the state funds and what it actually costs to maintain the current educational programs provided to students in Evergreen Public Schools. State funding falls short of what students need, and what the community wants, in order to receive a quality education. Replacement levy funds make up 16 percent of Evergreen’s $237 million operating budget. All districts in Clark County, and nearly all districts in the state, go to their voters every one, two, three or four years with levy proposals to maintain the quality of their educational programs.

In 2006, Evergreen Public Schools’ voters approved a four-year levy, which will expire in 2010. The replacement levy on the February 9, 2010 ballot will provide funding through 2012. Levies do not extend beyond the tax years for which they were approved.

How will the proposed levy affect my taxes?
With passage of the levy, the projected rate per thousand dollars of assessed value will be $3.49 in 2011 and $3.55 in 2012. The actual impact upon the property taxes on your home will depend upon whether your home increases or decreases in assessed value, and, if so, by how much. It is estimated that the maintenance and operations levy on a median priced home in Evergreen Public Schools will increase 3.2 percent in 2011 and 1.6 percent in 2012.

The total amount of the levy collected cannot increase even if the district’s assessed value increases. If the voters approve the levy on February 9th, the collection will not begin until April of 2011.
Where to Find Additional Information

For more information about the Replacement Levy or Evergreen Public Schools, please call the Community Relations Department at 604-4088. In addition, the following resources are available:
District Election Hotline: 604-4134
District Website: www.evergreenps.org
Email: election@evergreenps.org

PLEASE STUDY THE FACTS AND VOTE!

Voter Registration
Evergreen Public Schools encourages all residents of Clark County who are U.S. Citizens (by birth or naturalization) and who are at least 18-years-old on or before election day to register to vote. Mail-in registration forms are available in the office at any school or at the district’s Administrative Service Center at 13501 N.E. 28th Street, during regular business hours. In order to vote in a particular election, voter registration forms must be turned in to the Clark County Elections Department at least 30 days prior to the election date. Citizens may also register in person at the Clark County Elections Department at least 15 days before an election. The Clark County Elections Department is located at 1408 Franklin Street, Vancouver. For more information, please contact the Clark County Elections Department at 397-2345 or www.co.clark.wa.us/elections/voting/register.html

Please note: Senior Citizens may qualify for tax exemption from special levies. For more information on Senior Citizen exemptions, please call the Clark County Assessment and GIS Office at 397-2391.

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Levy Q&A

Click a question below to watch a video of Superintendent John Deeder answering the question.

Levy Measure
Community Forums

WEBCAST
Watch the recorded version of the live webcast featuring Superintendent John Deeder and CFO Mike Merlino.
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Levy Video

Want even more information? Check out this short levy video. It explains in more detail what the replacement levy pays for and how the levy impacts our schools.

Watch Now >>

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Top 10 Levy Facts

1. In 2006, voters in Evergreen Public Schools approved a four-year maintenance and operations levy, which will expire in 2010. The levy on the February 9, 2010 ballot will replace this previously approved levy: thus it is called a Replacement Levy. The Replacement Levy will provide funding for the next two years – 2011 and 2012.

2. The Replacement Levy funds basic education programs and services for the day-to-day operations of Evergreen’s 35 schools. A levy is necessary to fill the gap between what the state funds and what it actually costs to maintain the district’s quality education program.

3. With passage of the levy, the projected rate per thousand dollars of assessed value will be $3.49 in 2011 and $3.55 in 2012. The actual impact upon the property taxes on your home will depend upon whether your home increases or decreases in assessed value, and if so, by how much.

4. The two-year Replacement Levy will raise $40.8 million in 2011 and $41.5 million in 2012. The amount raised each year replaces the funding raised the prior year.

5. The Replacement Levy provides 16 percent of Evergreen Public Schools’ total operating budget. The remainder of funding is provided by the state (68 percent) federal (14 percent) and other sources (2 percent) such as fines and fees.

6. The Replacement Levy allows the district to pay for part or all of a variety of instructional services and programs including extracurricular activities – such as athletics, music and clubs, the EXCEL program for highly capable students, middle and high school electives – including some advanced placement (AP), music and career and technical education classes, library materials and classroom technology. In addition, the levy helps fund some school staff, including teachers and support personnel.

7. Also funded by the Replacement Levy are textbooks and supplies, transportation for elementary students who live more than a half-mile from school and grounds and building maintenance.

8. The Replacement Levy helps maintain smaller class size by allowing the district to hire more teachers than the state actually funds. On average, the class size in Evergreen Public Schools is 23 at the elementary schools, 22 at the middle schools and 24 at the high school level.

9. Evergreen Public Schools’ levy supplies nearly $1 of every $6 in the district’s $237.3 million operating budget for the 2009-2010 school year.

10. All school districts in Clark County, and nearly all districts in the state of Washington, go to their voters every few years with a levy proposal. Voters in Evergreen Public Schools have passed levies since 1977.