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Financial adviser outlines how local option levy works; teachers propose $1-per-thousand campaign to reduce class sizes
Summary
A Piper Sandler advisor explained how Measure 50, assessed-value caps and 'compression' affect local option levies; North Bend teachers presented a levy plan to restore electives and reduce class size and asked the board to allow further planning and community engagement.
David Williams of Piper Sandler walked the board through how Oregon’s local option levy authority works and why Measure 50 and the state’s assessed-value framework make levy revenue less predictable than before.
"Local option levy is a unique opportunity for a school district to raise additional funds for operating funds locally," Williams said, stressing that levies may be levied as a rate per $1,000 of assessed value or as a fixed dollar amount and that collections are affected by a phenomenon he called "compression," which reduces the actual revenue collected compared with theoretical maximums.
Williams described three statutory caps that limit what a district may collect—Measure 5 constitutional limits, a dollars-per-student cap indexed by 3% annually, and a 25%-of-total-funds ceiling—and warned that property-by-property analysis is needed to produce realistic first-year revenue estimates. He recommended conservative budgeting in the first levy year to avoid hiring commitments the district may later be unable to fund.
Following the technical briefing, a teacher who represents classroom staff presented a grassroots levy proposal intended to address declining enrollment and staffing reductions. Christina (teacher and OEA-affiliated organizer) said the group has identified priorities: reducing K–12 class size, restoring cut electives and supporting classified staff. She said campaign planning could be carried out with union PAC support to lower district costs and estimated an initial campaign fundraising need around $20,000.
"If we ask for around a dollar on thousand of assessed value, it would create about 10 teaching positions and possibly some classified staff as well," Christina said, offering an example to help the board understand the local impact.
Board members expressed support for further study rather than a final vote, raising operational questions about budget timing, how to present reasonable revenue expectations to voters (given compression), and whether a levy would complicate or preclude a future bond. Christina asked for the board’s consent to continue planning and stakeholder meetings; the board agreed to allow additional outreach and requested a follow-up presentation in January with draft levy text and more detailed cost estimates.
The board did not take a formal vote on a levy tonight; the discussion concluded with a direction for staff and stakeholders to continue analysis and public engagement.
