Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Let’s talk about pie
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Let’s talk about pie
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we are very grateful for our communities' support over the years of our Educational Programs & Operations Levy and Technology Capital Levy.
Levies are increasingly important in Washington state. Since 2019, the percentage of the state’s budget for K-12 education has gone down significantly. In 2019-21 it was 51.6%. From 2025-27 it will be 43.2%.
At this week's School Board meeting, Superintendent Brian Lowney talked about how the state is “fixing the problem” by increasing the amount of money that school districts can ask for in their levies. “That’s in lieu of providing the money to us from the state,” he said. “In fact if you took the whole state budget as a pie, that portion of that pie that schools get has actually decreased over the last five years.”
That pie is why levies are essential funding for school districts. In planning for our two levy renewals, Lowney and our School Board decided that just because we could ask for more, didn’t mean that we should.
“We’re not asking the community for the limit of what we could ask them for,” said Lowney. “We’re asking for what we need. And we’re asking for exactly the same rate that they approved in the 2022 election.”
Both of our replacement levies will be on the ballot for the February 10, 2026 Special Election.
The tax rate for our Educational Programs and Operations Levy will remain at $2.17 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The tax rate for our Technology Levy will remain at $0.31 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“Even our closest neighbors are suggesting and are running their levies at a higher rate than we’re asking our taxpayers for,” Lowney said. “One of the things we want to do is have consistent tax rates for our voters.”
As you gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving, and someone passes the pie, know that you’re part of a district that is thankful for a community that has continually supported our schools over the years.
You can watch Superintendent Lowney’s full levy presentation to the School Board here, and you can learn more about our two replacement levies at bethelsd.org/levy.
View all episodes
By Bethel School DistrictWith Thanksgiving just around the corner, we are very grateful for our communities' support over the years of our Educational Programs & Operations Levy and Technology Capital Levy.
Levies are increasingly important in Washington state. Since 2019, the percentage of the state’s budget for K-12 education has gone down significantly. In 2019-21 it was 51.6%. From 2025-27 it will be 43.2%.
At this week's School Board meeting, Superintendent Brian Lowney talked about how the state is “fixing the problem” by increasing the amount of money that school districts can ask for in their levies. “That’s in lieu of providing the money to us from the state,” he said. “In fact if you took the whole state budget as a pie, that portion of that pie that schools get has actually decreased over the last five years.”
That pie is why levies are essential funding for school districts. In planning for our two levy renewals, Lowney and our School Board decided that just because we could ask for more, didn’t mean that we should.
“We’re not asking the community for the limit of what we could ask them for,” said Lowney. “We’re asking for what we need. And we’re asking for exactly the same rate that they approved in the 2022 election.”
Both of our replacement levies will be on the ballot for the February 10, 2026 Special Election.
The tax rate for our Educational Programs and Operations Levy will remain at $2.17 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The tax rate for our Technology Levy will remain at $0.31 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“Even our closest neighbors are suggesting and are running their levies at a higher rate than we’re asking our taxpayers for,” Lowney said. “One of the things we want to do is have consistent tax rates for our voters.”
As you gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving, and someone passes the pie, know that you’re part of a district that is thankful for a community that has continually supported our schools over the years.
You can watch Superintendent Lowney’s full levy presentation to the School Board here, and you can learn more about our two replacement levies at bethelsd.org/levy.