Levy

Our Replacement Levy

The Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy is not a new tax. It replaces a four-year levy that expires after December 2024.

This levy bridges the gap between state funding for our district and the cost of staff, materials, services, and facilities our students need to fulfill the community’s desire to prepare all students for the future of their choice.

This renewal levy will be on the February 13, 2024, ballot.

 

 

Weekly levy newsletters

Read our informational series explaining more details about different aspects of our replacement levy.  

Key facts

  • Ballots are due February 13, 2024. Learn how to register to vote, check your voter registration, and local ballot drop boxes on our Voting webpage.

  • If approved, the levy would be for four years from 2025 to 2028.

  • Local levy dollars make up more than 16% of the Stanwood-Camano School District budget.

Levy

How do levies work?

For levies, voters approve a set total dollar amount that can be collected for the year. The school district cannot collect more than what voters approved. So, even as property values go up or down, the total amount doesn’t change from what voters approve. The estimated rate is $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed property value for 2025.

Voters last approved this levy in 2020 at a rate of $1.57 per $1,000 of assessed property value during the first year of collection in 2021. 

Local levies bridge the ongoing state funding gap between what the state funds and what it actually costs to deliver on our commitment to offer each student a quality education, safe environments for learning, and resources for well-being.

Levy

Levy vs. bond

The difference between a bond and a levy is: Bonds are for building and levies are for learning. Money from a bond can only be used toward capital projects, while EP&O levies generally pay staff to provide programming a school district’s community wants above what the state provides for “basic education.” 

What will this levy help pay for?

Levy

The EP&O levy allows for continued funding for day-to-day school operations to help ensure every student in our district has access to teaching and learning, supports for students, programs and opportunities for students such as athletics and after-school activities.

This levy helps to pay for staffing and operations that are unfunded — or underfunded — by the state, such as:

  • All General Fund sports and extracurricular costs 

  • Safety, security, and student supervision staffing

  • Additional teaching, nursing, and counseling staffing

 

 

 

  • levy graphic

 

 

 

 

 

Levy

• Download or view a page of levy facts 

• Download or view a detailed two-page flier 

 

Come learn about the levy in person at a public information session

Want more? Download the PDF version of our Replacement Levy slideshow we use at these presentations listed below.

  • November 2: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the YMCA Community Room.

  • November 7: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Stanwood Library Meeting Room 9701 271st St NW Stanwood.

  • November 20: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Camano Island Library Meeting Room 848 N Sunrise Blvd Camano. Rewatch it HERE.

  • November 28: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the CRC (Community Resource Center) 9612 271st ST SW Stanwood. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • December 7: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Camano City Schoolhouse 993 Orchid Road Camano. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • December 14: 5:30-6:30 p.m. live on our Facebook page and Instagram. Join us for an all-online conversation and Q&A session about the replacement levy.

  • January 3: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the YMCA Community Room. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • January 11: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Hill Retirement Center (Social Room). Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER — January 18: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Warm Beach Conf Center - Cedar Lodge Chapel 20800 Marine Drive Stanwood. 

  • January 24: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Warm Beach Conf Center - Cedar Lodge Chapel 20800 Marine Drive Stanwood. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • January 25: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Brookdale Senior Living 7212 265th St NW Stanwood. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

  • February 1: 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Warm Beach Conf Center - Maple Center Main 20800 Marine Drive Stanwood. Stream it live on our Facebook page and Instagram.

 

“Our hope is that schools can help bring our community together with a shared focus on supporting students. We recognize there are diverse perspectives with any election and appreciate the respect our community can demonstrate for each other through elections. Our goal for this webpage is to provide factual information for our voters.”

— Superintendent Deborah Rumbaugh

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions about the replacement levy

If you have additional questions leading up to the February 13 election, please email [email protected]