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Wade Smith says Walla Walla schools rely on local property levies as state support falls

Walla Walla Public Schools · March 3, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Wade Smith, superintendent for Walla Walla Public Schools, outlined how roughly 40% of school-related taxes are state-levied while about 60% come from locally approved bonds and levies; he warned that rising insurance and operating costs and a near-10% drop in state school funding over five years are straining the district.

Wade Smith, superintendent for Walla Walla Public Schools, said in a March update that the district depends heavily on property taxes, with about 40% of school-related taxes levied at the state level (listed on tax statements as "state school 1" and "state school 2") and roughly 60% coming from locally approved bonds and levies that remain in the community.

Smith said locally approved levies and bonds fund voter-approved initiatives and cited several specific rates: a renewal levy he described as capped at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed…

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