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Proposition No. 1
Submitted by
Bethel School District No. 403
SCHOOL PROGRAM MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION LEVY
Official Ballot Title:
To replace an expiring school levy and better meet the educational needs of students, shall Bethel School District 403 levy the following special replacement taxes for essential school programs, and maintenance and operations expenses on all taxable property within the district:
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Collection Year
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Approximate Levy
Rate per $1,000
Assessed Value
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Levy Amount
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1999
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$4.13
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$14,300,000
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2000
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$4.13
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$15,000,000
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all as specified in District Resolution 10 (97-98)?
Explanatory Statement:
This program, maintenance and operations levy replaces the expiring levy approved in 1996. It would maintain school funding at its current levels and allow for projected student enrollment increases.
This is not a new tax . It is a slight increase of the expiring levy.
Approval of the 1999 and 2000 levy request is necessary to maintain a number of programs currently in place in the Bethel School District.
The Replacement Levy supports: Safety and security programs in all schools, new technology, textbooks and instructional materials, preventative maintenance of school facilities, programs to help all students meet higher academic standards, music, drama and highly capable student programs, athletics and other extracurricular programs, special education services, student transportation services, support for Bethel Recreation and adult enrichment classes for the Bethel community.
Senior citizens and disabled persons may be exempt from all or part of levy taxes. Contact the assessors office at 798-7105 for information.
Statement For:
Your "yes" vote on April 28 is crucial to the continuation of many programs that are vital to Bethel students. Without levy funding, many of the programs we as parents have worked so hard to encourage and develop will be reduced or eliminated.
For example, the local levy provides funding for campus security and crossing guards, busing for students who live within one mile of schools where there are no sidewalks, new textbook adoptions, music programs such as Bethel’s new orchestra and athletic activities serving thousands of students. Funding for classroom and school technology labs and dollars for preventive maintenance for the older school buildings are necessary to ensure all students attend well-maintained, quality schools.
Local levy dollars provide essentials, not frills. This levy is not a new tax . It replaces the expiring two-year levy approved by the voters in 1996. It is only a slight increase to that levy. Without this funding, Bethel students would be at a tremendous disadvantage.
Schools have worked hard to steadily improve test scores and create quality programs where parents, business people, senior citizens and other community members are welcomed.
Bethel Schools need your support to prepare our children to live in an increasingly complex and competitive world and to become productive, contributing citizens. Our future depends on the quality of education we provide our youth.
As parents, volunteers and community members in the Bethel School District, we urge you to vote "yes" to approve this replacement levy.
Statement prepared by: Chris Brayton, Harriett Balmer and Donna Kolowinski
Statement Against:
The Bethel School District Board of Directors has adopted the following for the 1997-1998 school year budget: General fund, $87,144,540.00; Capital project, $8,524,558.00; Transportation vehicle fund, $450,000.00; Debt service/bond fund, $5,853,710.00; Associated student body, $2,333,240.00; for a total of $104,306,048.00. The approximate student body is 15,009, for an average annual per student cost of $6,949.56.
In District No. 403 voters have approved since 1988, bonds an original issue, well over $52,350,000.00 dollars with an estimated $39,690,000.00 dollars outstanding as of September, 1997. This money includes remaining funds from the district’s 1990 bond issued for an elementary school that has not been built yet. The schools annual budget includes some $50 million from Washington State, $10 million from the Federal Government and unknown amounts the FCC. Though the grown of new housing developments may increase some student enrollment every new home built in our district brings new property tax revenues that the school district did not have before. This should lower our taxes obligation instead of increasing it.
For better education we need our leadership to be more frugal with their use of our money by better planning and looking for alternative ways to use existing facilities. As long as our leadership assume parents have endless deep pockets more high priced wasteful monopoly spending will always be the cure for all school problems.
Vote no on Proposition 1 will mandate our district leadership to maintain current tax values using available growing revenues instead of raising our taxes.
Statement prepared by: Dan Stetler
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