Cascade School District to Place Two Levies on February Ballot

The Cascade School Board voted Monday night to place two renewal levies on the February 9th ballot.

One would be the district's Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy (formerly Maintenance and Operations), while the other is a Technology, Safety, and Security Improvements capital levy. If approved by voters, the replacement EP&O levy would go from costing taxpayers $1.38 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $0.99 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The replacement tech levy would remain the same at $0.15 per $1,000.

Executive Director of Finance and Operations Dwight Remick said, "You look at all the new housing starts and motels that we've got in the community. There is so much more property value to be able to spread the cost over that the rate per $1,000 has dropped."

The EP&O levy constitutes about 20% of the district's budget and would generate about $3.5 million in its first year, growing to just shy of $4 million in its 4th year. It's estimated the tech levy would bring in $400,000 in Year 1, and would grow to roughly $550,000 by Year 4. Both levies would start in 2022 and run through 2025.

The EP&O levy funds things like the district's extracurricular activities, drama club, lower class sizes and nurses. While the Technology, Safety, and Security Improvements capital levy is pretty self-explanatory, Remick added that the replacement cycle on much of the district's technology needs to be faster than it used to be due to the increased wear and tear of distance learning.