La Conner Schools February levy proposal covers four years

A yes vote lowers taxes

 

November 25, 2020



La Conner School Board members were in a thankful mood Monday and hope to be so again in February when voters consider a four-year replacement educational programs and operations levy totaling $4,036,344.

Acting on recommendations from a levy election committee co-chaired by La Conner alums Robert Hancock and Jerry Carr, the board, during a 90-minute Zoom meeting, unanimously approved a resolution putting the ballot measure before school district voters on Feb. 9, 2021.

If approved, the levy rate on taxable property would be $1.45 per $1,000 assessed valuation, a decrease from the $1.50 per $1,000 collected under the two-year levy voters passed in 2019.

The funds will pay for school programs and services and non-capital expenses not fully funded by the state, including instructional materials, technology, buildings and maintenance, athletics and staff.

Interim Superintendent Rich Stewart said the committee opted for a four-year rather than two-year levy to reduce election-related costs and to maintain a flat school tax rate into 2025.

“There was no dissension to it, it was a good consensus,” Stewart, in response to a question from board member John Agen, said of the levy committee’s deliberations.

“They talked through it until they reached agreement,” he said. “It was a robust discussion.”

Exemptions from taxes may be available to certain homeowners, according to school district officials. The Skagit County Assessor can be contacted to determine tax exempt status, they said.

Approval of the levy resolution led off a wide-ranging board session.

Members continued discussions from prior meetings related to the district’s ongoing superintendent search, focusing on the five-month timeline developed by the Northwest Leadership Associates consulting firm and weighing a potential salary range for the new lead administrator.

The board agreed in principle to increasing the salary package for the La Conner superintendent’s position, which is now second lowest in Skagit County.

Were the district led by a full-time superintendent, rather than Stewart, who is part-time, the job would pay just under $155,000 annually. Several districts in Skagit County pay superintendents over $200,000. Only Conway, which does not have a high school, pays less than La Conner.

“I would like us to offer more,” said board member Amanda Bourgeois. “Maybe that way we could get someone with more experience.”

Board member Lynette Cram agreed, though noted that such administrative experience could be reflected in having a central office management background rather than a prior superintendent’s role.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be having experience as a superintendent,” she explained, “but having experience at a larger district in its district office, maybe someone who has broad experience in district management.”

A comparative salary table compiled by Stewart, which factored in an assumed five per cent increase over 2019-20, estimated the Concrete Schools superintendent’s pay at $172,180.

That caught the attention of board member J.J. Wilbur, a former La Conner High basketball standout.

“I’m a La Conner alum and I don’t want to see Concrete beat us at anything,” he quipped.

Stewart said he will follow up by researching larger districts to see what their assistant superintendents are paid.

The board heard detailed presentations from district finance director Bonnie Haley and director of special programs Andy Wheeler.

Haley explained how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the district budget last school year, noting there were variances in both anticipated revenues and expenses.

“The good news,” she said, “is we received more revenues and spent less than we thought we were going to in the 2019-20 school year.”

There were revenue declines in certain areas, such as daily cafeteria food sales and leasing of district facilities, but state funding for student enrollment was greater than budgeted, she said. Projected student enrollment was 585, but ended up just over 600, Haley said.

Cancellation of spring sports due to the virus crisis led to a reduction in travel and related costs, she said. All told, the district’s fund balance was $1,665.496, more than $690,000 above what had been expected, said Haley.

Wheeler shared results of a parent survey seeking feedback on the district’s remote learning format this semester and input on how best to move forward. The responses were a “mixed bag” of preferences for either remote, hybrid or in-person instruction should COVID-19 levels fall in the weeks ahead, he reported.

Wilbur expressed concern some students are not adapting well to on-line learning.

“A lot of kids are falling behind,” he said. “Getting kids back to school in some way, shape or form is important.”

Stewart said the timing must be right to move from a solely remote learning curriculum.

“We will have a plan,” he assured the board. “But we don’t want to go backwards. We don’t want to start and stop. We don’t want to have to pull the plug.”

At the meeting’s end, Board President Susie Gardner Deyo offered her thanks to the community for its resilience during the pandemic.

“I’d like to take a moment to be thankful,” she said, “and give a shout-out to our parents. I’m extra thankful for their patience and support as we entered into this school year, which has been very different. I want to thank and recognize everybody in these unusual times.”

She said Thanksgiving will provide a welcome relief.

“It will give everybody a little down time,” she said. “Everybody is looking forward to it, even though it will be a very different Thanksgiving.”

 

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