MARYSVILLE – It probably won’t surprise anyone that taxes will go up statewide to fund education.
But at least in Marysville, in just a few years, property taxes actually will go down – maybe as much as $1 per $1,000 valuation.
That’s what Marysville School District finance director Mike Sullivan explained to the school board in a work session Monday night.
“There is a lot going on right now with levies,” he said, adding there are reports that the state legislature may change the rules yet again.
Sullivan recommended that the board make a decision on a levy based on what the laws are now. Next year it is estimated local taxpayers will pay $3.66 per $1,000 valuation. But the following year and after that, local taxpayers will pay only $1.50 per thousand. However, a state tax for schools will increase almost 81 cents per $1,000 to make up some of the difference. But Sullivan said the net decline in 2019 will be about a dollar per thousand.
There are some districts, such as Everett, that plan to tax above the $1.50, which is the current law, in hopes the legislature will be flexible about that. School board member Tom Albright has heard the legislature may soften its stance on that amount. “If they change the rules we can collect more money.” “It’s convoluted,” board president Pete Lundberg said. “Taxpayers may not understand.”
Sullivan said there is a shift in the way districts will get state money. It will be more for salaries and specific things. Overall, locally, taxpayers will pay $28.5 million in 2018 and then $13.5 million in 2019.
The general consensus was not to go above the $1.50 mark. “If you go more than $1.50 it could backfire,” human resources director Jason Thompson said.
Lundberg said locals already wonder why schools cost more here than in Everett. He said there already is a perception that, “We ask for more than what people can afford.”
Sullivan told The Globe Tuesday that taxpayers in other school districts in the state – like Bellevue and Mercer Island – will pay more because they live in more-expensive homes. “They are trying to get rid of some inequities,” Sullivan said of state lawmakers. “But inequities still exist. They get a lot more money per student.”
Albright said he hopes in the future, when that tax rate drops, maybe locals would be more supportive of passing a bond for some much-needed new schools.
When voters decided against a building bond, the school district said it listened. One of voters’ complaints is the district didn’t take good enough care of the schools they already have. “This year the focus was on maintenance,” Superintendent Becky Berg said. “Anyone who walks in the front door notices a difference,” Sullivan said.
Indeed, during the earlier board meeting, facility supervisor Craig Dennis and Jim Long, grounds manager, talked about district-wide upgrades.
“All received the same TLC (tender, loving care),” Dennis said. They “took ownership of their work. Detailed. The work crews really stepped up.”
Fencing at Marysville Middle School was removed. “It looks more like a learning facility than an institution,” Dennis said.
Working with the city, the driveway was improved at Sunnyside Elementary. Dennis also said the community helped the look of the schools. The Grove Church was singled out for its “I Heart Marysville” effort, with 250 people donating about 40 hours of time each. Most-evident is the Fantasy Fortress playground at Cascade Elementary School. Also notable is the roofing of the dugouts at the Little League fields at Liberty Elementary, which also helped the city parks department.
In a related matter, the district talked about six properties that it wants to sell. The district has no idea what they are worth as they need updated appraisals.
Albright said whatever they make will just mean that much less for taxpayers to pay on a bond or levy to fix schools. Sullivan mentioned that Snohomish County Public Utility District already is interested in one of the properties for $880,000 for a substation.
Also, Jarrett Delfel was honored for his Eagle Scout Project at Jones Creek. Curriculum director Melissa VanZanten said the 20- by 20-foot shelter he built is great for fifth-graders who go there every year to learn about outdoor critters, streams and vegetation.
