Recently I submitted some questions to Camas School District Superintendent Mike Nerland to help me understand the upcoming CSD levy. One question was a concern about an apparent contradiction of CSD documents that has contributed to the confusion of many voters. Secondly, as a taxpayer, I very interested to see HOW my tax dollar is spent - what percentage id allocated towards basic education and teachers vs. what I consider non-essentials such as athletics.

Mr. Nerland has been out of town with family health issues and directed me to Ina Evers-Martin, Director of Business Services for the CSD. Ina also played a key role in authoring the current levy. I was pleased to receive a very detailed response from Ina and the speed and openness in which she replied.

 Q. How will Levy dollars be allocated?

The following table illustrates how the levy dollars are spent during the 09-10 school year:

 

Basic Education: certificated, classified staff, principals $3,562,866   35.3%

General Support: Central Administration, Custodial, Maintenance,

Utilities, Insurance, Grounds, Technology, Motor Pool,   2,353,570     23.3%

Special Education                                                       1,293,885     12.8%

Pupil Transportation                                                   1,180,062     11.7%

Athletics                                                                       963,332       9.5%

Certificated Staff Development                                      453,890        4.5%

Text Adoptions                                                             240,000       2.4%

Bilingual Program                                                           26,406        .3%

PSE Staff Development                                                     10,000      0.1%

Learning Assistance                                                         9,578        0.1%

Secretarial Staff Development                                          8,549         0.1%

 

TOTAL LEVY                                                             10,102,138  100.0%

 

Allocation of percentages is currently being worked on for 2010-11 but is expected to be about the same. She noted that “If the state does indeed eliminate I-728 and the K-4 enhancement dollars, we may see a greater percentage of the levy utilized to retain teachers and a smaller percentage in other areas”.

 

According to the Camas School District "Budget Summary Fiscal Year 2009-10" prepared by Director of Business Services Ina Evers-Martin the 2010 General fund levy is $2.49 per thousand dollars property value.

According to the "Budget Summary" produced by the CSD contradicts the FAQ brochure mailed to voters, the expiring levy is $2.49/$1,000 total tax collected = $9,542,304.

The Mailed FAQ states the expiring levy is being assessed at $2.68/$1,000 totaling $10,102,138

 

Q. Which source of information is correct? The CSD Budget report or the CSD's Q&A Mailer?

 

According to Martin “Last July, when our budget was adopted, the 2010 approved levy in the amount of $10,111,289 was rolled back to the estimate of the levy lid calculated by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to $9,542,304.  A school district can only collect 24% of the sum of the state and federal funding it receives in the previous year.  So, when the budget was adopted, we rolled back the levy to that estimate, knowing we might have to re-certify the levy when the actual levy lid figures were released by the state in October 2009.  The actual levy lid which was released by OSPI in October was $10,102,138.  Since the approved levy is higher than this amount, we re-certified the 2010 levy to the levy lid amount of $10,102,138.

  At budget time in July of 2009, I also estimated that the levy would cost the individual tax payer $2.49 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, not knowing that our total assessed values would drop by 17.6%.

 

In December 2009 the actual assessed values were released by the assessor’s office.  I originally estimated that the owner of a $300,000 home would pay 3000 x $2.49=$747.00 in 2010.  After the drop in assessed value to this $300,000 home, the new value of the home is $247,200.  This also means that the individual cost per $1,000 must increase, since the school levies are for a set amount.  The rate per $1,000 is now $2.68—the rate necessary to generate the fixed amount of $10,102,138. Again, the rate will fluctuate depending on changes in assessed value, but the total dollars collected remain fixed. The current cost to my example tax payer is 2472 x $2.68=$663, which is less than the original estimate because of the drop in assessed value.  This is, of course, based on average values for the Camas School District. Remember that assessed values across our district do not adjust consistently.  Some values drop more and some less—contributing to some variance in overall tax amounts for similar houses.

 

When a school district passes a voter-approved tax, whether levy or bond, we must put before the voters a total collection amount (and an estimation of what the tax rate will be). This means that the district will collect exactly that approved amount, regardless of increases or decreases to property values. Each year the county auditor sets the tax rate for our M & O levy based on overall home values within our school district boundaries. Thus, the 2009 assessed value is the basis for the 2010 collection. A few years ago, when property values in Camas were skyrocketing and new home construction had peaked, people would comment to me that the district must be in good financial shape as they expected we were collecting more Maintenance and Operations (M & O) levy dollars due to the fact that so many new people were moving to the area. The truth of the matter is that while property values were going up, the M & O tax rate for homeowners was going down, and the district was collecting the same amount of money voters had approved in the last election cycle.  Consequently, even though our enrollment continued to grow, we had to do rely on the previously approved levy amount. Now, as we’ve seen property values drop for a couple of years, the M& O tax “rate” has been increased to compensate for this—still generating that fixed amount in the original levy. Regardless, we still only receive the total dollar amount the voters approved back in 2006.

 

When you look at our Q&A flyer, you will see that the rate for 2010 is $2.68.  The rates for 2011 – 2013 are estimates based on a modest growth of assessed values and a modest growth in student enrollment. If the estimated levy is higher than the 24% levy lid, by law we have to roll back the levy to that lid”.

 Probably more information than you wanted to know, but I think it is important to know this BEFORE casting your vote.

-Gary