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Aurora East USD 131 staff present three options for 2025 tax levy, recommend 4.99% estimate
Summary
District finance staff presented a timetable and three levy/abatement scenarios for the 2025 tax levy, citing an estimated 11.51% increase in assessed value and a December 2024 CPI of 2.9%. Staff recommended asking for a 4.99% levy estimate; no formal board vote was taken at this meeting.
District finance staff presented the Aurora East USD 131 2025 tax levy timeline, revenue breakdown and three levy/abatement options at a committee meeting, recommending the board ask for a 4.99% levy estimate. No formal board vote on the levy occurred at this meeting; staff said the full board will consider adoption and the levy must be filed by Dec. 31, 2025.
The presentation said the district’s equalized assessed value (EAV) for 2024 totaled a bit more than $1.2 billion and that a King County clerk estimate projects EAV to rise about 11.51% for 2025 to roughly $1,388,043,182. Staff noted the December 2024 Consumer Price Index was 2.9%, which constrains the portion of the levy that can be increased for existing property. Using those factors, staff described three illustrative levy paths: no abatement (the district’s requested 4.99% overall levy increase), a $350,000 abatement option, and a $718,000 abatement option that would aim to keep the district’s debt levy at last year’s level.
Finance staff explained revenue sources for the district, citing evidence-based funding, state funding, federal grants and real estate taxes. In the slide presentation they showed evidence-based funding made up about 52% of revenue, state funding about 7%, federal grants about 22% and real estate tax about 14% (figures presented by staff). Staff also listed known inputs (2024 EAV and the 2024 extension) and reminded the board that some factors remain unknown until final county figures are released in spring 2026.
Staff walked the board through how each levy option would affect the district’s total levy and a typical homeowner. Using an example average home sale value cited in the presentation (approximately $326,000), staff said that because EAV is rising faster than local CPI, the tax rate would likely fall in the scenarios presented even though the total levy amount would increase. Staff emphasized that debt service changes drive some of the levy increase: the presentation included a projected bond-and-interest (debt service) payment of about $6,562,358 under the current plan and showed how abatements would shift operating funds into the debt service fund to reduce homeowners’ near-term tax burden.
Staff recommended the board approve filing an estimated levy (4.99% request) to meet the statutory timetable and then adopt a final levy after the county’s final property values are released in spring 2026. The presentation noted the district’s formal adoption date recommendation for the full board is Nov. 3, 2025, and that the final filing deadline is Dec. 31, 2025. Several board members and administrators asked questions about how the levy scenarios align with the upcoming operating budget and the practical effect on homeowners in different neighborhoods.
No action was taken at this committee meeting; staff characterized the discussion as informational and said the full Board of Education will consider formal adoption and any abatement amounts at a later meeting.
