School board approves $125,000 voluntary rollback to keep levy near $1.50 per $1,000

The Quillayute Valley School District board on Nov. 12 approved Resolution 03-25/26, a voluntary rollback of $125,000 intended to bring the district’s local levy rate closer to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Diana Grama, who led the presentation, said the rollback is meant to “keep it to a dollar 50 per thousand.” Financial advisor Corey of DA Davidson told the board the $125,000 figure was chosen to get the district close to that $1.50 target without jeopardizing state assistance: “we think a rollback of a $125,000 would get us close to that dollar 50 number,” he said. The board made and seconded a motion to approve Resolution 03-25/26 and the measure passed with all members present voting aye.

Board members discussed the reasoning behind the voluntary rollback: timber-assessed-value swings and rising property values can push the district’s calculated tax rate higher, which can reduce the district’s share of state matching funds if the local tax rate is out of the zone that maximizes local-effort assistance. Corey explained at a high level that a district’s share of timber and matching dollars depends in part on its tax rate relative to neighboring districts; raising the levy above the $1.50 target can leave state matching dollars elsewhere.

Board chair called for a motion to adopt the resolution, the motion was seconded and the vote was recorded in the affirmative; no recorded opposing votes were noted. Diana said staff will issue a press release and a short talking sheet explaining the decision to the public.

What’s next: the district’s finance staff will implement the rollback and rework budget line-items as needed; the board asked Jan to identify savings to offset the reduced levy revenue for the coming spring collection cycle.