Battle Ground School District Levy is a “shell game” Vote No

Before you read this article or even look at the Battle Ground levy page please take the time to read the Clark County Elections page that offers the pros and cons as submitted:

https://voter.votewa.gov/GenericVoterGuide.aspx?e=868&c=06#/measure/4922    

Before we begin let’s make sure we understand the levy rates and timings. In the brochure that was mailed out, as well as on the district website, it says the 2020 levy rate is $2.50. That’s true. In August 2019 the School Board increased the levy from $1.50 to $2.50. However, that increase didn’t show up until the Feb 2020 tax bills went out. In August 2020 budget the School Board fund request caused the levy rate to decline to $2.31 BUT…that doesn’t take effect until February of 2021 tax bills go out. If the new levy is approved the 1st year $1.95 rate won’t take effect until the 2022 tax year. So when the brochure and website use the $2.50 rate to show the reduction percents they appear larger than if they used the $2.31 rate that kicks in now. Technically (and legally) they are correct for the 2020 tax rate even if the effect is only part of the year. Clear?

Here is the snapshot of the current rate info from the Clark County Assessor’s Office. Note that this shows the $2.31 rate that’s now in effect.

Have you ever seen or played the “shell” game? A small object is placed under one of the shells and the shells are shuffled around. You are asked to point to the shell the object is under. After allowing you to win a couple of times you are asked to place a bet (kind of like your tax dollars for a levy). The shuffling begins but is faster and the object is harder to follow. In the end you lose when you bet. Sometimes the object is removed with sleight of hand. The only way to “win” is not to play. We can’t afford the ever increasing taxes. The spending doesn’t support the results. The only way to get control is to stop the train and rethink what’s being done. 

Now let’s look at the levy as if the information were accurate and correct:

The Battle Ground levy is a shell game. It appears simple on the surface but it’s actually complicated. There is no way you can win so the only “play” is to vote No. Let’s walk through the “sleight of hand” so you can see how the game is played.

First, let’s start out by making a couple of things clear:

1. We love education
2. We love good teachers and think they should be well paid
3. We think that there are a lot of things out of control of teachers
4. Test scores, under Common Core, have been going down and down. Common Core is deeply flawed and, along with the constant testing, is damaging our children
5. Money doesn’t solve problems

Here’s the link to the Battle Ground website that promotes the levy: Levy – Battle Ground Public Schools (battlegroundps.org) so you can see what they are saying. Slick video. Well done. Notice that there is no place on the website that allows for a counter argument or explanation. They legally only need to point out their positive view. They don’t need to allow an alternate view. Slick.

Here’s a link to the actual resolution submitted to the elections dept: Resolution O-20

In the past 10 years the amount spent per student in Washington State has essentially doubled. That’s right 2x. Depending on the district they spend $14-$15,000 (or more depending on the district) per student per year. 80% of the money goes to personnel; about 3-5% to maintenance with the balance to operations and the classroom.

The Battle Ground levy is a renewal. That is, there was a previous 4 year levy and they are asking for a new 4 year levy. From there it actually gets messy. Why you ask?

1. In 2017 the legislature, under the McCleary mandate from the State Supreme Court, raised the State School Property tax by just under $1 per $1000 of assessed value (from $1.98 to $2.89 per $1000 of assessed value). At the same time they lowered the local levy to $1.50 per $1000 of assessed value that took effect Jan 1, 2019 (BG’s levy rate was $3.31/$1000 in 2017). The intent was to create what they called a “levy swap”. State went up and local went down so the net amount of money to the district would remain the same…that’s where it started to fall apart.
2. For nearly a year school districts got the new State money PLUS they also got their previously passed local levy rate. That added millions of dollars in revenue. The teachers unions across the state went on strike (or threatened to) demanding that the money coming from the State be given to them as salary increases. It worked. The “swap” didn’t go to the districts for operating costs to replace the lower local levy which then left districts short because school boards bargained the money away. The money went to the teachers.
3. School districts then went back to the legislature and said they didn’t have enough money (since they gave it to the teachers) so the legislature, in the spring of 2019, allowed districts to increase their local levy from $1.50 to $2.50 per $1000 of assessed value IF…IF…the previously passed levy (under the old system) was at or above $2.50. In Battle Grounds case it was $3.31 in 2017 and $3.46 in 2018.
4. The Battle Ground School Board Directors increased the local levy from $1.50 to $2.50 in the August 2019 budget meeting without telling the public. That’s right. They increased the district budget and by approving the budget approved the levy increase. Legal? Yes. Honest?  Transparent?  What did they use the money for? Some capital projects and operating expenses. They’ve spent more on computers, software and curriculum than anytime in the past 12 years. [Note: The capital bond failed 3x but the Board apparently felt people didn’t mean it or didn’t understand and so they raised the levy to get more money]

The district leadership (on the district website) has made a number of claims:

1. They have lowered the levy rate! School Board sends lower tax rate to voters – Battle Ground Public Schools (battlegroundps.org)
2. Higher levy’s have added more projects: Levy-funded projects preserve buildings, enhance safety and enrich education – Battle Ground Public Schools (battlegroundps.org)
3. They announced “virtual levy night” Join us Jan. 14 for a virtual Levy Information Night – Battle Ground Public Schools (battlegroundps.org)
4. High levy’s help remote learning: Keeping us connected: Levy dollars deliver technology for Battle Ground students – Battle Ground Public Schools (battlegroundps.org)

Let’s dissect their claims:

• They are reducing the levy rate from $2.50 to $1.95 for 1 year and then back up to $2.20 for each of the remaining 3 years of the 4 year levy.

Comment: The levy was $1.50 and the Board raised it to $2.50 (the highest in Clark County) and now wants to cut it to $1.95 and then $2.20. So, really, the first year of the new levy is REALLY $.45 higher than the $1.50 and then jumps by $.70 over the original $1.50. Yet they claim it’s a decrease. Heck, raise a price and then lower it a little bit and claim it’s a cut and expect people to love you for doing it? Dishonest? Can you say “shell game”? [As noted above the current rate for the start of 2021 is actually $2.31]

• Higher levy funded projects

Comment: The bond failed 3x. But the Board decided that No 3x doesn’t really mean NO so they raised the levy amount and then shifted some of the money to capital projects. Is that what the voters said? So the Board decided that the public didn’t really understand…kind of like the $30 Car Tab vote?

• Higher levy helps remote learning

Comment: BGSD has spent millions of dollars on computers, software, wireless hotspots and other technology in an effort to deal with the Covid 19 State learning mandates. But again local money to pay for an unfunded mandate. Rather than fight what did your School Board do? Raised your taxes…and didn’t even tell you or ask.

Let’s look at some numbers from the Clark County Tax Assessors Office:

November 2020 “median” (½ above and ½ below) home value in the BGSD = $429,900

We contacted the Clark County WA Assessors office to get some information to help us understand the changes in recent years. Let’s take a look:

BG_CM_State_School Levy Data_from_CCAOffice

What do we see?

• The State school property tax went up from $1.98 in 2017 to $2.89 in 2018 (=+$.91/$1000)
• The State school tax rate is now up to $2.93 in 2021
• The BGSD (Battle Ground School District) “Enrichment” levy was $3.31 in 2017; went UP to $3.46 in 2018 along with the State increase. (People saw massive tax increases on their property tax statements).
• Jan 2019 saw the local levy drop to $1.50 until August when the school board added another $1/$1000 (without telling the public) taking it to $2.50.
• August 2020 the school board trimmed the levy to $2.31 (after getting ~$11 million from the increase) for 2021
• Now, in the Feb 2021 levy vote they want to reduce the $2.31 to $1.95 for 1 year and then raise it back up to $2.20 for each of the remaining 3 years

Now lets look more closely at the $$$:

• The $$$ the BGSD got from the State in 2017 = $16.195 million and in 2021 is projected to be $35.839 million. That means that in 4 years State money has INCREASED by $16.644 million. That works out to a 221% increase!!!
• In 2019 the local levy brought in $15.899 million. This was a reduction of $15.86 million due to the “levy swap” because the State taxes had gone up. So the intent was for the two to offset.
• In 2020, due to the extra $1/$1000 the Board added the local levy brought in $28.308 million vs the $15.899 million in 2019. That works out to an INCREASE of $12.409 million = 178% INCREASE.
• In 2017 the State and local levy $$$ = $43,537,345
• In 2020 the State and local levy $$$ = $60,419,699
• The change from 2017 to 2020 in $$$ = $16,882,354. That works out to a 138.7% increase.

Analysis:

• The amount of money coming into the district has risen dramatically over the past 5 years
• Test scores are, at best, flat. Here’s a link to the WA State School Report Card
• More and more time is being spent on Social Emotional and other programs when we have a problem with students being promoted while failing.  Rather than focusing on basic education we get CSE, PBIS, shared gender bathrooms and other changes.  What about focusing on core education?
• In the past 10 years the amount of money spent per student has essentially doubled
• More money is NOT the answer
• The BGSD has continued to lose…that’s right…flat or lose students over the past 3 to 4 years even with all the new housing. In the 2020/2021 school year the district has lost about 1,000 students but expenses keep rising.
• The school board is playing a “shell game”. They raise the levy from $1.50 to $2.50 and then come back and say they want to lower it to $1.95 and they call that a decrease when it’s actually $.45 HIGHER than the rate before they increased it. They have the gall  to call it a decrease. Wait…they then raise it from $1.95 to $2.20 after they suckered taxpayers in. Sound like the promotional rate offered for 1 or 2 years and then the rate jumps. Is this what we’ve come down to?

Note: The BGSD teachers have negotiated a new contract (see our separate story reporting on that) that will add millions of dollars in expense over the life of the levy. It appears that the new teachers contract will add nearly $3 million to the budget in the next 3-4 years.

K-12 education is a monopoly. Parents can’t move their child to a private or home-school unless they pay for it on top of their school taxes. Until public schools need to compete there will be no meaningful and useful change. We need to throttle this spending now.

So, in the end, looking at the facts and data what say you? To pass the levy needs 50% +1 vote. To turn it down means a clear majority of the people voting must vote NO. What will you do?

Finally, Inslee is asking the legislature for a capital gains tax, a healthcare plan tax, a carbon tax and others totaling almost $2 billion.

Here are some other bills affecting education using your tax dollars:

• SB 5044 was introduced in the senate early learning and k-12 committee meeting. This bill is “relating to equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism in the public school system.” The purpose is to provide training to increase equity and inclusion, and to fight systemic racism.c  https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?billnumber=5044&year=2021  Many of these training programs instruct white educators to check their privilege while teaching educators of color that they are oppressed.
• HB 1225 “AN ACT Relating to supporting school-based health centers.”  “The legislature intends to create a school-based health center program office within the department of health to award grants and coordinate with other agencies and entities to provide support, training, and technical assistance to school-based health centers.”

Is this how you want the tax dollars you can’t afford to be spent?

Appendix – Charts and other stuff you may find interesting or useful

Battle Ground and Camas SD tax information for articles:

https://clark.wa.gov/treasurer/tax-rates

https://www.esd112.org/schooltax/

“2019 vs. 2020″ Actual Property Tax Example: Battle Ground SD

2006 to 2020 total property taxes went up by $2,205.03 = 147.837%

Inflation 2006 to 2020 (https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2006?endYear=2020&amount=1) = 128%.

Taxes have gone up 147.837% and Inflation is up 128%. So taxes haven risen at a rate of 115.49% faster than inflation.

Let’s look at income change over time: https://dqydj.com/household-income-by-year/

If we look at 2006 to 2020 it appears that the Median Household income (½ above and ½ below) and adjusted for inflation, in 2006 it was $60,248 and in 2020 (14 years later) it is $68,400. That works out to an increase of 113.53%.

Inflation for 2006 – 2020 was +28%

Taxes for 2006 – 2020 went up +47%

Median Income for 2006-2020 went up 13%

Taxes went up 3.6x faster than median income.

Taxes went up 1.67x faster than inflation.

Nov2020_SouthwestWashington RMLS Mkt Data