At the regularly scheduled Board meeting Tuesday night, the College Place Public Schools learned about the required timelines for a renewal of its expiring levies. Currently, the school district has a Maintenance & Operations/Educational Programs Levy, Capital Levy, and Transportation Levy set to expire in February of 2022. The Board will have to determine the path forward to pass a resolution due to the county elections office by December 10, 2021.
Cory Plager, of D.A. Davidson Investment Banking Co. reviewed statewide data regarding school levy programs, local tax rates, and information that the Board will need to consider in order to create its resolution. Mr. Plager pointed out that while College Place, like most Washington growing cities, has seen an increase in assessed value, taxes for individuals have actually decreased as the amount collected has been spread out over the growth coming to the district through new construction. Last year alone, of the growth in the City, 58% came from new construction; which helps spread the costs of school measures to a broader base. The Board will make its resolution in either the October or November Regular Board meeting.
During the meeting, the Board of Directors also learned that due to historically low interest rates, the district has the opportunity to refinance its 2012 school bond measure to return nearly $5,000,000 to the taxpayers within the district from 2022 to 2032. The District will not receive any portion of the savings as it will go directly back to the taxpayers. By law, the CPPS Board cannot approve the refunding until 90 days before the call date of June 1, 2022. The Board will review the rates in its February meeting and may give authority to Superintendent Jim Fry and Business Manager Julie James to initiate the refunding process to close April 1, 2022.
Superintendent Jim Fry applauded the work of the Board and the District, “This is an incredible opportunity for us to give back to our community taxpayers who have supported us so strongly. Our goal is always to be excellent caretakers of our public’s money. Because of our excellent rating and diligence in tracking the changes in rates and federal laws, we put ourselves in a great position to take advantage of this opportunity and give our community back $5,000,000.”