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 one levy:
a four-year Operations Levy, which expires at the end of 2006. On Feb.; 7, 2006, voters approved a four-year renewal of that levy and they approved a four-year technology levy.
