2025 School Levy Pass/Fail Report

Let’s talk about the failed levies (Capital, Enrichment, Transportation) across the state as more Washington taxpayers are saying “No” to unlimited amounts of taxation in the first part of 2025 according to OSPI’s website not just Yelm taxpayers.

>>Side Note: this doesn’t take into account students who are home schooled, attending private school, or attending other learning methods that aren’t publicly subsidized.

Looking over the numbers-

* 79 requests for some type of levy in Washington state in early 2025.

* 65 levies passed

* 14 levies failed

* 82% of levies requested passed

* 18% of levies requested failed

* Levy money attempted by districts $4,940,653,036

* Levy money passed by taxpayers $4,558,283,946

* So taxpayers rejected $382,369,090 of their money going to school district’s levies

* So all of this levy money is in the BILLIONS- yet how is Washington State and local school districts already taxing most property taxes 70% + before levies and bonds for school districts, yet the schools still heavily rely upon levy/ bond dollars to carry out their businesses of educating students according to our state constitution?

* We need to find out from Washington state where all the taxes are going and why do we rely so heavily upon levies/ bonds, which places undue burdens on the backs of hardworking Washingtonians.

* Important points to remember: Seattle’s approved enrichment levy was $747,000,000 and their approved capital levy was $1,800,000,000 for a total of $2,547,000,000.

* Therefore of the BILLIONS of dollars in levy money approved in early 2025- Seattle’s district approved levies that consume approximately 56% of all the levy money collected of $4,558,283,946.

* What tools do we have as taxpayers to verify how these funds are being used, if they are truly going to the taxpayer approved departments, and is there any audit we are afforded as taxpayers to ensure these funds are not misused or misappropriated?