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Lake Washington School District No. 414

Proposition No. 1
Capital Projects Levy

The Board of Directors approved Resolution No. 2259 for educational facilities and critical capacity needs. This proposition authorizes the improvement and upgrade of District facilities; additions to five schools; district wide safety and security improvements; and authorizes the following excess levies for such purposes on all taxable property within the District:

 

 

 

 

Collection 
Years

Approximate Levy

Rate/$1,000
Assessed

Value

 

 

 

Levy
Amount

2020

$0.29

$20,000,000

2021

$0.28

$20,000,000

2022

$0.27

$20,000,000

2023

$0.26

$20,000,000

2024

$0.25

$20,000,000

2025

$0.25

$20,000,000

 

all as provided in the Resolution. Should this proposition be approved?

Yes

No


Lake Washington School District requests voter approval of a Capital Projects levy to enable the district to pay for safety and security measures and critical classroom needs not funded by the state and needed to meet current and future educational programs for its students.  The district has grown by over 6,000 students in the last 10 years and expects to enroll 2,000 more students by 2022. 

These funds would be deposited in the Capital Projects Fund to pay for district-wide safety and security improvements; classroom additions at Lake Washington High School, including an auxiliary gym and commons; classroom additions at Carson, Franklin, Rose Hill and Twain Elementary Schools, including expansion of core facilities.

Passage of this proposition would allow the levy of $20 million per year over the next six years.  If authorized by the voters and based on current assessed valuation information, estimated levy rates would be an average of $0.27 per thousand of assessed valuation beginning in 2020. This amount will be offset by a reduction in the debt service levy rate due to past bonds being paid off.  The exact levy rate shall be adjusted based upon the actual assessed value of the property within the District at the time of the levy.

Further information is available on the district’s website at www.lwsd.org.

Exemptions from taxes may be available to homeowners who are 61 or older, or disabled, and who meet certain income requirements.  For more information, call the King County Department of Assessments 206-296-3920.

Make More Room for Our Kids by voting Yes on the Capital Projects Levy!

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) continues to grow – enrollment has grown by an average of 600 students each year for the last 10 years, a 26 percent increase. As our communities grow and thrive, we need to make sure students have safe schools and classrooms to learn. The Capital Projects Levy is a short-term measure to address current overcrowding and provide space for future students enrolling in LWSD. This levy prioritizes student safety by funding security cameras for all elementary schools and entry modifications at high schools. This levy will help the district continue to ensure all students have a positive, supportive, and safe learning environment. 

The 2019 Levy maintains the current rate with no tax rate increase.

This levy benefits everyone. Good schools and facilities positively affect our neighborhoods. Better schools help build a stronger community and improve our quality of life. That’s why hundreds of your neighbors, elected officials, community leaders and organizations endorsed this measure (www.vote4lwsdkids.org). Please join us in voting Yes for the LWSD Capital Projects Levy!
 

The District has an overcrowding problem that it created.  Voters approved bonds in 1998 and 2006 to update and enlarge schools, but instead the District initiated a program to replace all schools.   

Twain, Mann, Thoreau, Juanita, Sandburg, Rose Hill, Lakeview, Franklin, Frost, Muir, Rush, Keller, Kirk, Bell, Redmond Middle, Rose Hill Middle, Finn Hill Middle, ICS, Kirkland Middle, Redmond High and Lake Washington High School - all were torn down and rebuilt. The beautiful new schools were 50% larger, but with the same number of classrooms and no increase in capacity.  Most schools were overcrowded when they opened and needed portables.  After 20 years of continuous school construction, we still don't have the adequate capacity that we should in the District. 

The District's enrollment-forecasting model has consistently underestimated the 5-year student population growth rate by 40-70%. The Growth Management Act and city planning policies mandated higher density that generated increased enrollment, but the District never incorporated this into their planning. 

For the money being spent, this levy builds very little classroom space, with almost all of it in Kirkland. Voting for this levy endorses the District's broken, irresponsible facilities planning practices that created the overcrowding crisis.  
 

Here are the clear and simple facts - LWSD has experienced unprecedented enrollment growth since 2008.  Without these funds, facilities will be inadequate for current and future students. 

The state does not fund new classrooms or safety measures. With your support, LWSD can make room for our students and provide safety enhancements across the district with no tax rate increase. Make Room for our Kids by voting Yes on Prop 1!

Submitted by: Penny Sweet, John Marchione, Christie Malchow,  www.vote4lwsdkids.org

"No tax rate increase" does not mean "No tax increase."  

The mayors are trying to confuse you. Your school taxes will go up if this levy passes - just like they have gone up after past bond and levy elections. The 2016 Bond Measure raised your taxes with "no tax rate increase."  The tax increase occurs because of the increased value of your home. You'll pay more tax - with no tax rate increase.

Submitted by: Susan Wilkins, www.unfairtaxes.net
 

Simple majority (Wash. Const. art. VII, sec. 2(a))

For questions about this measure, contact:  Shannon Parthemer, Communications Director, 425-936-1342, sparthemer@lwsd.org 

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