The kids keep coming. Where’s the money to educate them coming from? Check the mirror
Pierce County has some of the fastest growing school districts in the state.
Of the school districts with a student population of more than 1,000, six of the top 25 fastest-growing are in Pierce County, according to data from Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The county’s surging districts include Sumner-Bonney Lake, Auburn, White River, Orting, Steilacoom and Bethel.
Sumner-Bonney Lake School District had the highest percentage change in the county over the past five years at 15.2 percent — growing from 8,988 to 10,353 students.
With more students, school districts need more resources. They have turned to the ballot box, asking voters to tax themselves for multi-million-dollar levies and bonds.
Several cities, like University Place, Lakewood, and Tacoma are looking at double-digit property tax increases this year. Others like Puyallup, Edgewood and Steilacoom will see a 4-9 percent increase on property bills, said Mike Lonergan, Pierce County assessor-treasurer.
There is a concern that the uptick in property taxes could result in backlash at the ballot box. Lonergan said 58 percent of all property tax he collects is school funding.
“These things all kind of erode the desire to support the government. It takes money for schools, public safety and parks,” he said. “They’re all good, but people have a limit.”
This month’s special election ballot was a good illustration.
Of the 15 measures on the February ballot in Pierce County, 14 were school funding initiatives. Nine school districts asked for levies, eight of which help cover operational costs the state does not. Voters also saw three school districts look to expand or repair schools with bonds. Auburn also asked voters for a technology levy.
Voters gave those measures mixed support.
“I think that anytime there is this much of an increase it’s going to be harder for the next tax to be approved,” Lonergan told The News Tribune.
One landlord in Sumner estimates the property taxes on his four-plex have doubled within the past 15 years. He called Sumner-Bonney Lake’s $348.5 million measures on the February ballot incredible.
“It’s a shocker,” Jeff Cobb said. “That’s a budget crunch I’m going to have to pass on to renters. I can’t absorb that.”
Only Tacoma passed it’s construction bond. Sumner-Bonney Lake’s $205 million bond and Eatonville’s $4 million bond both flopped, according to election results from the Pierce County Auditor’s Office. Both of those districts won levies with 53 percent approval.
The most recent results show the Orting School District was 11 votes away from passing its operational levy. The district’s spokesperson, Tara Long, said the district of 2,780 students still is waiting for the results to be certified Feb. 21, but it likely will have to go back out to voters.
The levy dollars account for 9 percent of the district’s budget and open up another $3.3 million from the state.
“Should the measure ultimately fail, the Orting School District will place the same measure on the April 28, 2020 ballot requesting voters approve $2.07 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2021 and 2022,” Long said in an email. That’s less than the current levy of $2.18.
Long said enrollment is skyrocketing, but three of the previous four bonds have not passed. Orting places 15th in fastest-growing school districts of a student population more than 1,000.
White River School District’s has seen a 14 percent increase in student enrollment since 2014. The district passed a levy in 2018. When voters were asked in 2019 for an additional $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value, they voted the measure down.
White River’s teacher union president, Kristen Montieth, said she is relieved the levy passed the second time around this month and excited voters are supporting the kids.
“It seems strange that I have to beg people on a street corner for enough money to educate their kids in their own community,” she said.
What funds schools?
School funding is a combination of state and local money. The state is expected to provide funding for basic education, meaning enough resources to teach core subjects to kindergarten through 12th Grade. Everything else — extracurriculars, new infrastructure and support staff — is paid for by local taxes.
Rarely does the state meet the need of a full-functioning school, Puyallup board president Kathy Yang said.
The state created a “prototypical school formula” to distribute funding. According to the formula, a nurse would spend two hours a week at a Puyallup elementary school, Yang said. To cover the difference, the school districts have had to ask for more from the community.
In 2019, the state Legislature increased the maximum amount school districts can ask from voters by raising the “levy lid.” Now, levies can ask for up to $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, replacing the $1.50 per $1,000 of property value cap.
For the White River School District, the state pays for .72 of one security officer’s salary. The district’s levy funding pays for 10.5 security positions. The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District depends on local levies to pay 16 of the district’s 18 nurses.
Levies are usually a four-year commitment.
In addition, districts are building more schools or renovating current ones to meet growth. Construction fees are covered by bond measures. A bond asks property owners to slowly help pay back debt that the school district has taken on for construction, usually between 15 to 25 years.
Services cost money
School districts, like White River, have had to return to voters after failed measures in November. Montieth said the district has been up against the wall. She understands people feel like they are paying a lot of taxes, but it’s for the betterment of the community.
“If we didn’t have all the programs for special education kids and safety precautions with school resource officers, all of those things, parents would not put up with that,” Montieth said.
Meeting the 60 percent threshold is hard for bond measures, but districts continue to try.
Bethel had been pushing for a $443 million bond since 2016 to build three new schools and expand five others. The measure finally passed last February. It was the first time in 13 years a bond measure passed the 60 percent threshold.
Puyallup’s board president Yang said the administration has gone back to the drawing board on a $273 million bond after it did not pass in November.
“In the future, we haven’t given up on a bond,” Yang said. “We just have to find the right bond.”
The board hasn’t decided when it will put the bond back on the ballot, but if it doesn’t pass again, Yang said the district might have to resort to more portables to accommodate more students. The district has grown from 21,660 to 23,567 students over the past five years.
“It’s hard to ask voters for additional tax funding, but it’s so essential,” she said.
Some east Pierce County school districts like Puyallup face cuts, citing a lack of state funding for basic necessities.
Yang said Puyallup’s current financial situation is unsustainable. A minimum of eight administrative staff positions are expected to be cut in coming months. The school district has relied on its reserves this year to staff a 23,500-student school district.
On the February ballot, Sumner asked voters for a $143.5 million levy and a $205 million bond, which would cost a $300,000 household roughly $73.75 per month. Communications Director Elle Warmuth wrote an email after election night stating that the school board would review the election results and consider next steps.
Cobb, the Sumner landlord, said if the property taxes continue to rise and restrictions on rent increases pass, he’ll leave.
“Here’s the deal, if they continue to squeeze the landlord, I’ll have to sell,” Cobb said.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 5:20 AM.
