District pitching school levy early

Spokane Public Schools’ spring levy effort is under way a month sooner than in previous elections to keep pace with those mailing their ballots early.

The three-year, $141 million levy, which helps fund teachers and programs, accounts for 15 percent of the district’s operating budget.

Now that all voting will be by mail, most people will likely send in their ballots weeks before the actual March 14 election day, which added some urgency to promoting the levy.

“(In the past), we were doing information sharing up until election day,” said Mark Anderson, Spokane Public Schools associate superintendent of school support services. “We really have to have our information and facts out to voters by the middle of February.”

Ballots will be mailed out by Feb. 24, Anderson said. He expects most people will send back the envelopes in the first three days.

The renewal rates on the levy are $3.69 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2007 and move to $3.75 by 2009. A homeowner with a $100,000 home would pay $369 in 2007, which is a bit less than under the current levy. That levy expires after 2006 with a rate of $3.86.

Anderson and Superintendent Brian Benzel have already begun speaking to community groups like Lions Clubs to explain the renewal levy. Another 50 speaking engagements are scheduled to begin Tuesday. During the 2003 levy, Anderson and Benzel spoke at 191 public gatherings.

Spokane Public Schools started sharing levy information sooner through newsletters, e-mails, district-produced cable television programs, and even school reader boards, said Terren Roloff, director of communications and community relations.

Principals will be asked to make presentations to their own staffs.

When you are the largest employer in Spokane (currently edging out Sacred Heart Medical Center), and the second largest in the county behind Fairchild Air Force Base, employees are key voters, Roloff said.

The district has the equivalent of 3,146 full-time employees.

While historically Spokane Public Schools voters have been supportive of levies, the change in voting system means more potential new voters, which adds a touch of uncertainty to the outcome.

“There’re definitely some unknowns,” said Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton.

There is an “Oregon Effect,” first noticed when Oregon switched to mail-in ballots, where numbers of voters rose in special elections, likely because the casual voter will find it easier to vote, Dalton said.

“Oregon saw a 10 to 16 percent increase in total turnout,” Dalton said.

In Spokane’s last mail-in election, Dalton expected the mayoral recall turnout to reach 70 to 75 percent when it actually hit 57 percent, she said.