Thank you to our voters who considered the Replacement Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy and the Capital Levy on the Feb. 8 Special Election ballot.  The election was certified by the Pierce County Auditor Feb. 18.  

The EP&O Levy – Proposition No. 1 passed with 50.23% percent yes votes. This four-year Replacement EP&O Levy will continue to provide critical funding for essential staff, programs, and services.  

The Capital Levy – Proposition No. 2 fell short of the 50 percent of the votes needed to pass with 48.50% yes votes. If passed, the Capital Levy was targeted to provide safety and security upgrades and facility efficiency and repairs. In August 2021, a Study and Survey Report conducted by an OSPI-certified consultant provided a full analysis of buildings and sites needing critical repairs.  Assistant Superintendent of Operations Mario Casello states, “We have approximately 400 projects districtwide that are impacted by the capital levy failure which need to be addressed within the next 5 years.  We will be forced to forego many maintenance, repairs, and system equipment improvements at each school and critically re-prioritize needs.”
The final election results are:

Proposition No. 1 23,077 ballots (4 over voted ballots, 4 overvotes, 80 undervotes), 86,926 registered voters, turnout 26.55%
Yes 11,550 50.23%
No 11,443 49.77%
Total 22,993 100% PASS
Overvotes         4
Undervotes 80

Proposition No. 2 23,077 ballots (1 over voted ballot, 1 overvote, 99 undervotes), 86,926 registered voters, turnout 26.55%
Yes 11,444 48.50%
No 11,833 51.50%
Total 22,977 100% FAIL
Overvotes 1
Undervotes              99
A levy is a local property tax collected by school districts to fund the portion of educational programs and operations that are not funded by the state. Local levies are vital in filling the gap between state and federal funding and the actual cost of providing critical services to students, staff, and learning environments.