Voters passing Auburn School District replacement levies

Superintendent: ‘I’m not going to declare victory, but we’re feeling good’

King and Pierce county voters continue to pass the Auburn School District’s four-year Educational Program and Operations Replacement Levy and the six-year Technology Replacement Levy by tidy margins.

Here are the combined results of King and Pierce counties as of 4 p.m., Wednesday:

• Proposition 1: 54.26 percent yes, 45.74 percent no;

• Proposition 2: 57.49 percent yes, 42.51 percent no.

The four-year levy replaces the 2016 levy, which provides 10 percent of the district’s budget and expires this year. It will collect $36.6 million in 2021, $41 million in 2022, $45 million in 2023 and $49.2 million in 2024. The district will collect no more than $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in each of the levy years. The overall school tax rate will remain stable.

The six-year technology levy, which replaces the 2014 levy, will collect $5.8 million per year, for a total of $35 million over six years.

“These are two expiring levies, so they cost very, very close to what we’ve been paying all along,” said Auburn School District Superintendent Alan Spicciati. “Altogether, all of our levies and bonds together right now are $5.21, and over the next six years, the most the rate will go up is 12 cents, the range being 5 to 12 cents.”

If the numbers continue to favor the levies, here’s what district voters will get for their investment:

• Funds for all district athletics and activities and transportation to these events;

• Funds for education programs and transportation; and

•Funds for college and career readiness activities, or staffing not funded by the state, including nurses, security officers, school resource officers, psychologists and health room staff, and for extended learning opportunities.

The 2014 levy, which provided 1:1 technology for students in grades 2-12, expanded the wireless network and provided other infrastructure upgrades and improved instructional technology. Its replacement will continue those efforts and expand 1:1 technology K-12, and additional computer science instruction.