Battle Ground Public Schools

2014–15 ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT | 5 McCleary Decision Update In 2012, the Washington Supreme Court ruled the state is not meeting its constitutional obligation to adequately fund K-12 schools. Under the current definition of "basic education," many student programs and services are not covered by state funding and are needing a combination of levy, federal and grant dollars to stay in operation. e McCleary Decision identified several areas as basic education, including: transportation, maintenance, supplies and operating costs, full-day kindergarten, lower class sizes in K-3 and staff salaries. According to the decision, these areas should not be covered by local levy dollars. In fall 2014, the Washington Supreme Court decided unanimously to hold the Legislature in contempt for not making enough progress toward fully funding public education. State legislators are working to meet the court's requirements by the end of the 2015 legislative special session. District board members, administrators and staff associations are carefully following this process because any changes will impact the district's operating budget. Assessment Student data management system and family access ■ 2014-15 $452,000 Transportation Student transportation as well as athletics and field trips ■ 2014-15 $2.1 Million Public Relations Communications department staff, web development ■ 2014-15 $175,000 Asset Preservation Maintenance of buildings and property to maintain value (roofs, carpets, painting) ■ 2014-15 $1.5 Million Curriculum and Instruction Textbooks, Washington State Learning Standards alignment, Smarter Balanced Assessment, art and band materials ■ 2014-15 - $1.6 Million districts in the state of Washington use levy between what the state pays and the costs of operating schools. 2013–14 ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT | 5 Levy Rate Comparison e graph below shows a comparison of 2015 tax rates between local school districts. Battle Ground falls in the bottom half of local tax rates per $1,000 of assessed home value with a 2015 rate of $4.7002. is rate is the combination of the low bond debt rate of $0.8630 per $1,000 and the levy rate of $3.8372 per $1,000. Both the Hockinson and Washougal school districts passed capital improvement bonds this year that will be levied in 2016. Washougal's new bond is $57.7 million, while Hockinson's bond is $39.9 million. $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 Bond Debt M&O Levy Technology Levy Capital Projects Tax rate per $1,000 of assessed home value Vancouver La Center Evergreen Camas Battle Ground Ridgeeld Hockinson Washougal Green Mt.

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