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Hamilton board launches levy outreach, adopts ballot language and three‑column format
Summary
The Hamilton K‑12 Schools board approved ballot language and a three‑column format for two proposed levies, launched a community outreach campaign (letters, QR code, postcards and events), and answered public questions about tax impacts and levy details.
The Hamilton K‑12 Schools Board of Trustees voted to adopt ballot language and a three‑column ballot format for the district’s upcoming levy measures and launched a coordinated communications campaign.
Director (speaker 6) told the board the district had kicked off a communications package that day including a community letter, an informational sheet with a QR code, a postcard sample and a schedule of outreach events and media briefings. "If you go to our website, it will hit you — it’ll pop up and direct you to the Levy page," the Director said, urging residents to call the district office for answers to specific questions.
The board discussed ballot layout options. Staff presented two mockups showing the safety levy and the technology levy in different column configurations. After brief discussion about whether safety or technology should appear first, the board approved a three‑column format so ballot items and candidate listings would fit as required by state formatting rules.
The Director described the outreach plan: sandwich boards at each school, postcards to households, flyers at parent‑teacher conference nights, voter registration tables at open houses and scheduled appearances before civic groups such as Rotary and Lions. Staff also said reporters would be briefed in the coming days and that a district phone number would be staffed to take levy questions.
A public comment message read at the meeting questioned the local tax burden, saying, "my property taxes have increased over 20% since 2021" and asking for clearer explanation of how levy revenue would be spent. Legal/Human resources staff (speaker 7) read the message and pointed residents to detailed levy materials on the district website and to the district phone line for follow up. The Director acknowledged questions about the levy’s share of the budget and said the district’s informational materials attempt to outline how the request would supplement roughly 12% of the budget.
The board adopted a required annual resolution projecting non‑voted levies for 2026–27 and moved a resolution of intent to oppose increases in certain non‑voted levies, which passed by voice vote.
What’s next: the district will continue scheduled outreach, publish the finalized ballot language and distribute postcards and flyers leading into the election period. Staff offered to answer specific tax‑impact questions by phone or via the district levy web page.
