Two hurdles school districts have to clear in order to pass tax levies would change if current legislation goes on to amend the Washington State Constitution.
The proposal, currently under consideration in the Senate, would allow school districts to pass levies by a 50 percent majority rather than the traditional 60 percent “super majority.” It would also eliminate the validation requirement needed for school levies to pass.
Rick Schulte, superintendent of the Oak Harbor School District, said he doesn’t know how that would affect school levy measures in the future.
“I don’t entirely know because every election is unique and has to stand on its own,” Schulte said. “You still have to have a good solid proposal that meets the community’s expectations.”
He said that a levy passing is more of a matter of community support and how well it fits the district’s needs than the threshold needed for approval.
However, in meetings with state legislators over the years, Oak Harbor school board members have advocated doing away with the 60 percent super majority requirement for levies.
The current maintenance and operations levy, which voters first approved in 2001 and renewed in 2005, originally failed when it went to voters in 2000. Voters will again decide on the levy in 2009.
For the levy requirements to change, the state constitution has to be amended. That requires the Senate and the House to pass the proposal by a two-thirds majority before it heads to voters for their approval.
In addition to changing the majority amount, the proposal also eliminates the validation requirement. Currently, at least 40 percent of the voters who participated in the previous election have to vote in a levy election in order for it to be valid.
The state House approved the proposal 79-19 last month and it is currently going through committees in the Senate. Locally, Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, voted for the measure while Rep. Chris Strow, R-Freeland, voted against it.
The proposal currently encompasses levies but doesn’t include bonds, which are used to fund capital projects such as school construction. Bonds would still require 60 percent voter approval.
