SPOKANE, Wash. — Every three years, Spokane Public Schools (SPS) asks the voters for a new levy. Every six years, SPS asks them for a new bond. On Feb. 13, 2024, they’ll be asking for both.
“(If the levy fails) it would mean a significant change in the experience our students have,” Superintendent Adam Swinyard said. “Our levy funds 100% of activities and athletics. High school sports, clubs, band, drama. Our levy funds a significant portion of our school nurses, our counselors, lower class sizes (and) advanced placement (AP) programming. Those are all parts of a school experience that our community expects our schools to provide.”
The levy, which makes up 13.9% of the school’s budget, needs a simple majority to pass.
The bond, also on this year’s ballot, requires 60% of the vote to pass. School bonds help pay for infrastructure development, and this year’s bond is a small piece in a large puzzle.
“In 2003 we started out a long-range plan where every six years we take a small group of schools to replace or to modernize,” Swinyard said.
For the 2024 bond, SPS has a list of eight major projects to achieve including replacing Adams and Madison Elementary Schools, modernizing the old section of North Central High School and modernizing Garry Middle School.
In 2018, SPS asked the voters for a $495 million bond, but this cycle, they decided to reduce the ask to $200 million.
“(It’s) all with the goal of maintaining the investment in our kids, in our future,” Swinyard said, “while keeping the tax bill for our citizens as stable as we possibly can.”
If the levy and bond are passed, SPS property owners should expect to pay $6.05 for every $1,000 of assessed property value in education taxes (local and state). This remains in line with 2021 ($6.01 per thousand) and 2022’s ($6.03 per thousand) tax rates.
“Investing in them is an investment in the future,” Swinyard said. “A healthy, strong education fuels our economy and fuels a healthy community.”
