Levy Q & A Forum with the Superintendent, School Board President, Finance Director, and Levy Committee members October 13, 2021 6pm and October 19, 2021 6pm. Email jyoung@northmasonschools.org for the zoom invite.
At the school board meeting in July, the NMSD school board took action to update the ballot language on it’s previously approved levy election request for the November ballot. Many community members saw an increase in their property value tax assessment in June. The board had approved a request for a $3.8 million levy with an estimated $1.50/ $1,000.00 rate based on previous property value assessments. In order to provide the most accurate possible information to our voters, the community based levy recommended the district consider recalculating this estimate. We developed a new estimate of $1.32/$1,000.00 and the board voted to approve this updated language. It is a conservative estimate and the actual assessment could be considerably lower once the levy is approved. This is a very conservative levy request overall and far below the $2.50/$1,000.00 cap. This is also considerably lower than the total request in 2019. We are proud of our efforts to be careful stewards of our taxpayers dollars in meeting the needs of our students.
North Mason taxpayers will notice three distinct “school taxes” listed on their property tax statement. Only one of these taxes actually go directly to North Mason School District.
The “School” tax is the tax that is collected to pay for the bond that was approved by community members in 2013. The money that is collected through this tax goes directly to principle and interest payments on that bond. It cannot be used to support District programs or operations. The current rate per $1K of assessed value is $1.08 (2021 rate).
The “State School PT 1” and the “State School PT 2” is valued at $2.95 per $1K of assessed value (2021 rate). This tax is collected and sent directly to Washington State- not your local school district. Washington State gathers this tax from all Washington State property owners. This funding is pooled at the State level. It is given back to districts as a revenue based on how many students are enrolled in the district. If a community has more property than students (like North Mason School District) your “extra” money helps fund a district with more students than property (like Seattle or Bellevue).
