School board members last week decided to bring a four-year, $3.8 million levy to voters in April, a $200,000 increase over the current levy.

Islanders currently pay 39 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value for a levy that brings in $900,000 per year — $3.6 million over four years. Under the proposed levy that will be up for a vote on April 26, the estimated rate would be 38 cents per $1,000, a lower rate because property values are up and are expected to increase.

However, this levy will include a $20,000 annual increase to account for rising property values. This means the district will collect $920,000 in 2017, $940,000 in 2018, $960,000 in 2019 and $980,000 in 2020.

The school’s levy resolution indicates that the annual dollar amounts will be collected based on estimated rates of 38 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value. That rate could change depending on home values.

“We’re committing to the dollar amounts,” school district board chair Bob Hennessey said. “The dollar amount doesn’t change, but the rate does. We make the rate whatever it takes to get to that dollar amount we committed to: $920,000 in 2016 for example.”

School district documents show that if the levy is not adjusted for inflation, the rate decreases by 1 cent per thousand per year, lowering the amount of money the district collects relative to home values.

“Historically, the district’s buying power has decreased over the years due to inflation,” Hennessey said. “We think that (this levy) is consistent with what the community wants because they want us to maintain our schools.”

If approved by voters, the Capital & Technology Levy will replace the current four-year levy, which expires this year. It will fund facilities maintenance projects at the island’s three schools as well as replace and upgrade technology.

A $26.9 million bond that was brought to island voters last month, but failed to pass, set aside $1.86 million for replacement and renovation projects at the schools. Without those funds, the Vashon Island School District (VISD) board was left to find a way to make up the funding gap with the levy. The board had three options: keep the current $3.6 million levy, raise it to $4.8 million or raise it and adjust for inflation.

Board members have spoken out at recent meetings about the district’s funding situation and have voiced concerns about having to choose among technology, maintenance and operating costs.

Hennessey said that the district will set aside $130,000 for facilities projects next year. The district has more than $4 million worth of Priority 1 projects to address, and apparently are not the only district dealing with the problem.

“Almost every other district is using levies to squeeze money out of places that money can’t be (squeezed) from,” board member Zabette Macomber said at the Tuesday, Feb. 23, meeting. “Everyone seems to be in this situation, making choices between roofs, technology and teachers, and that’s crazy.”

VISD Superintendent Michael Soltman echoed Macomber in a recent email to The Beachcomber and said that many districts have been “forced to run special capital levies” to try and keep up with preventive maintenance and minor facility projects.

Since the failure of the bond last month, community members have come forward and said that they do not believe the school is doing a good enough job taking care of maintenance.

In the email, Soltman said that he has been made aware of this “conversation trend” and believes it is incorrect.

“(Those conversations are) hogwash — I will stand behind our preventive maintenance plan as being the best example I have ever seen in any district for which I have worked,” Soltman said.

He also said that the district’s backlog of projects is due to deferred replacement, not deferred maintenance.

“Facilities that are 50 to 70 years old are a real maintenance challenge, as the systems are functionally at the end of useful life,” he said. “Capital bonds are the only way to address this need. We … attempt to stay ahead of issues related to old facilities, but without capital bond funding we continue to lose the battle.”

At coming meetings, the board will discuss the possibility of increasing the amount of levy funds spent on facilities and will begin to re-prioritize projects to focus on if the levy passes.