Yelm board votes to place two-year excess levy on Nov. 3 ballot

The Yelm Community Schools Board of Directors voted at a special meeting Aug. 3, 2026, to submit a two-year excess tax levy to district voters in the Nov. 3, 2026 election under Resolution O9-25-26.

A board member read the resolution aloud, saying the proposition would authorize an excess levy "to be made annually for 2 years commencing in 2026" to support the district's General Fund for essential educational programs, extracurricular activities and operations. During the reading the panel corrected and restated amounts aloud; the reader referred to roughly $11,000,000 for collection in 2027 and an amount near $12,278,072 for the subsequent year, but there was audible confusion while the figures were read.

Bill Haas, the board vice president, opened discussion after a procedural second was recorded. He and other board members framed the levy as necessary to keep the district financially solvent, saying local levy revenue is the district's primary locally controlled funding source. One board member said the proposed levy "does not add back programs that we've already cut. Offering less and asking more comes across tone deaf in my opinion," and voted against the resolution.

Despite that opposition, the chair announced, "The ayes have it," and the motion to place the proposition on the ballot carried. The resolution designates district finance directors and special counsel to receive the ballot title from the Thurston County auditor and addresses related matters.

Next steps: the district will follow statutory notice and ballot-titling procedures and work with the county auditor to put the proposition before voters in the Nov. 3, 2026 election. The transcript of the meeting records some ambiguity in the numeric readback of the levy amounts; the resolution text should be consulted for definitive, published figures.