The difference between a “basic education” and a real one!

The state of Washington provides funding for what it calls a “basic education” but that funding doesn’t come close to what it really costs to provide what has come to be expected in our public schools. The Educational Programs & Operations Levy (EP&O) provides 19% of the district’s budget for daily operations, or about one fifth of the dollars that it costs to keep school doors open, schools heated, teachers paid and all the basics.

This local levy directly pays for:

• Textbooks
• Supplies
• Transportation
• Teacher training
• Additional special education services
• Athletics & activities

Put in perspective, the EP&O levy pays for the equivalent of 612 teachers the first year of the levy and more each year after that. It is a critical part of the basic operations of the district.

Lake Washington School District regularly asks for the maximum allowed under law for the EP&O levy. For equity reasons, school districts cannot simply ask voters for as much as they want. Lake Washington is limited to 24.89 percent of what it receives in certain state and federal dollars. So even if voters wanted to give the district more money, to make up for less state revenue, for example, they couldn’t do it.

This measure asks voters for a specific sum: it does not fluctuate as your home value changes. So if your home’s assessed value increases, your tax rate won’t increase.

This levy is a renewal of a current levy that expires in 2010. Lake Washington School District voters have passed the EP&O levy (or the past measures known by its former name, the Maintenance & Operations Levy) continuously since the 1970s.

The Educational Program & Operations Levy:

• Purpose: 4 years of operating funds for the District’s general operating budget
• Passage Rate required: Simple Majority at 50%
• Frequency: every 4 years