Pasco School District reviews multi-year bond scenarios aimed at stabilizing tax rate

Trevor Carlson of Piper Sandler presented bond and levy planning scenarios to the Pasco School District board at a study session, outlining how the district could finance large-scale school construction and maintenance while aiming to keep the local tax rate steady.

Carlson told board members the presentation was intended as “a learning session” and laid out election timing, historical passage rates, statutory limits and four modeled financing scenarios. He said the district’s assessed value (the total tax base) and voter thresholds would be key to whether voters see a flat or rising tax rate under each plan.

The presentation matters because the district is planning long-term facility work to address growth and aging buildings, and the board will decide how much to ask voters to authorize and when. Carlson warned that the structure of borrowing, assessed-value growth and interest-rate assumptions together determine annual tax bills and total borrowing costs.

Carlson reviewed procedural items and empirical data: four possible election dates each year (February, April, August, November), historical passage rates for bonds and levies across Washington state and the special validation requirement for bond elections (a 40% turnout validation tied to the last general election). He said operating levies have generally had higher passage rates than bond measures and noted pending…