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Superintendent details replacement bond and four‑year levy; board approves investment‑officer resolution
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Finch told the West Valley board the district will propose a replacement bond (to take effect after a 2026 payoff) and a four‑year levy; the board approved Resolution 25‑12‑787 (appointing investment and auditing officers) and two travel requests, all by 5‑0 voice votes.
At the Dec. 9 West Valley School District board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Finch summarized an informational handout about an upcoming replacement bond and a four‑year replacement levy, and the board approved a finance resolution and routine items by unanimous voice votes.
Dr. Finch said the bond is a replacement because the district’s existing high‑school bond will be paid off in 2026; taking a replacement bond now would maintain a similar tax rate going forward, he said. The superintendent described an illustrative combined tax rate of $2.87 per $1,000 of assessed value, composed of a bond portion of $1.37 per $1,000 and a levy portion of $1.50 per $1,000. He said the handout was informational and had been vetted by the district’s legal team. "This is informational. This is not promotional," Dr. Finch said.
Dr. Finch said the district expects substantial state matching on the bond — "for every dollar that is spent for the bond, West Valley will receive from the state nearly 50¢ on the dollar" — and that the district will also receive local effort assistance for the levy.
Ballots are scheduled to be mailed in January; Dr. Finch said the deadline to return ballots is Tuesday, Feb. 10. Board members asked about rules on staff and board promotion of the measure; Dr. Finch and Assistant Superintendent Ryan McDaniels said staff may not use school property or work time to promote the bond/levy but may participate outside the contracted workday and off school property as private citizens. McDaniels said he would share a staff guidance link with the board.
On routine business, the board approved three action items: approval of the Nov. 24 minutes (motion passed 5‑0), approval of two travel requests for the high‑school girls wrestling team (Federal Way on Dec. 20 and Spokane in January; motion passed 5‑0) and adoption of Resolution 25‑12‑787 appointing an investment officer, auditing officer and signatory for warrant registers (motion passed 5‑0). The superintendent briefly answered questions about the resolution and pointed the board to the cover memo in the packet.
Next steps: the district will distribute informational mailers and short videos in January and proceed with the ballot mailing schedule ahead of the Feb. 10 vote.
