Levies & Bond
Although Washington State’s Constitution defines education as the “paramount duty” of the state, school districts increasingly rely on local funding sources. About 16% of total statewide school funding comes from local taxes, primarily property taxes through maintenance and operations levies. A levy loss can be devastating to a school district, which can make up to 24 percent of a district’s revenue.
Levies and Bonds: What’s the difference?
A levy is a request by a school district of voters to raise or continue property taxes for a limited number of years for operations costs or capital improvements that fund essential education programs and activities such as textbooks, computers, tutoring programs and extracurriculars such as music and athletics. A bond is a request by a district of voters to sell bonds to raise funds for capital expenses, such as constructing or renovating school buildings.
Resources
The League of Education Voters School Levy & Bond Library is a library of campaign materials donated by levy and bond campaigns across Washington State. It is a free resource for levy and bond campaign volunteers.
- D.A. Davidson & Co.: One of the Northwest’s top finance teams focused on K-12 education.
- Seattle-Northwest Securities: School Election Conference 2009 Presentations
- League of Education Voters: Simple Majority & Levy Library
- Seattle-NW Securities: Making Sense of the Numbers (Levy and bond trends)
- Seattle-NW Securities: Voter Opinions About Education Survey 2009
- K & L Gates: Living with the Public Disclosure Commission
- Spokane Public Schools: Lessons Learned (March 2009 levy and bond)
