Levy Amount Set on Citizen's Committee Recommendation

West Valley School District’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to support a two-year levy that will be placed on the ballot for February 14, 2012. The Board was faced with the uncertainty of state funding as the Washington State Legislature enters into a Special Session followed by a regular legislative session that will end later this spring. The Board voted to raise the amount of the levy from $2.95 per thousand to approximately $3.59 per thousand in order to be able to replace what the Governor has promised in reductions to the current K-12 allocation. West Valley has been told that the potential loss in State apportionment could be as great as $1.9 million. The levy amount approved Tuesday evening will be $8.4 million or $1.5 million more than the expiring levy. This amount was recommend to the Board from the West Valley Citizen’s Committee which has been grappling with the uncertainty of state funding while committing to keep West Valley’s current program as intact as possible.

“We understand that this is a difficult time to raise our levy amount. However, the uncertainty of continued state support while desiring to keep our district programs intact to support our kids, we believe this levy is as critical as any in recent years,” said Liberty Andis – Co-Chair – West Valley Citizen’s Committee.

The Board of Directors in West Valley also supported the Citizen’s Committee recommendation that if the state reductions are not as great as $1.5 million, the Board will only certify a levy amount that they need to maintain current programs, thereby providing a rebate of sorts to the voters. “It was important to the Citizen’s Committee that our community understands that we will only request that the Board certify a levy amount next fall that they need to maintain current programs just in case the state cuts are less than anticipated, “said Levy Co-Chair Jason Hoff.

West Valley School District has just received notification from the Washington State School Research Center at Seattle Pacific University that based on 2005-2010 student achievement data, and district practices, they are one of Washington’s Top 5% of School Districts. The Citizen’s Committee wants to ensure that the quality level in the West Valley School District remain at the current level for kids.

“Our kids only get one chance, and we want our district to continue to provide them a quality education in a quality program,” said Levy Co-Chair Jason Hoff.