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Othello trustees review levy history and warn of revenue sensitivity to assessed-value changes
Summary
Finance staff walked the board through levy mechanics, historical levy rates and assessed-value scenarios, concluding that rapid county assessed-value growth reduced the district's effective levy rate and the state match (Local Effort Assistance), creating a shortfall relative to earlier projections.
Othello School District finance staff told the board the district's levy revenues and the state's local-effort assistance (LEA) match are sensitive to changes in Adams County assessed value, and they outlined planning steps for a possible February 2026 levy.
Amy (district finance) explained levies are local property-tax measures that fill gaps between state allocations and district needs for certificated and classified staffing, substitutes, preschool, curriculum, technology, athletics, extracurriculars, safety, maintenance and insurance. She reminded trustees levies are a tax and that bonds (for capital projects) and levies (for operating programs) are separate: levies require a simple majority (50% + 1) to pass; bonds require a super‑majority (60%).
The presentation reviewed the district's levy lid under state rules (the lesser of $2.50 per $1,000 assessed value or an amount per pupil adjusted by inflation) and showed how rapid increases in assessed value in 2023 and projections for 2025 reduced the district's effective levy rate: a levy the board expected to be about $1.50 per $1,000 when proposed ended up as $1.23 per $1,000 in 2024 because county assessed values rose, lowering the per‑$1,000 rate needed to reach a fixed-dollar levy amount.
Because the state's LEA match is calculated relative to the rate voters approve, the district received a smaller percentage of the anticipated LEA funds when the actual effective rate was lower than projected. Finance staff quantified the impact in the presentation: the district's budget was cited at $81 million and staff noted levy/LEA changes contributed to a projected difference of roughly $5 million in levy-era totals compared with the amounts submitted when the levy proposal was drafted.
Amy walked trustees through historical levy rates going back to 2013, explained the district's common choice between fixing a per-$1,000 rate or fixing a total dollar request, and recommended summer budget workshops and a formal timeline of filings, OSPI forms and auditor deadlines if the district plans to place a replacement levy before February 2026. She also noted that the district's bond payments mature in December 2027, which will change the local tax mix and should be factored into long-range planning.
Trustees asked about specific examples included in the presentation: substitute pay (the state provided $123,000 for substitutes for 2023–24 while the district's substitute costs exceeded $1.1 million), classified-staff costs covered by levies, and athletics and extracurricular costs (cited at approximately $1.6 million for 2023–24). The presenters said OSPI offers tools to project assessed-value growth, but final county-assessor figures usually arrive later and can materially change levy projections.
The board directed staff to continue preparing levy planning materials, to bring refined assessed-value projections when they are posted by Adams County and OSPI, and to provide training on allowable advocacy and board members' limits when public communications about levies begin.
