I don’t think people realize that the Centralia school board is putting forward a $1.50 per $1,000 property value increase in the school property tax levy for us to vote on in February.
Why is this needed? The state funding for education has doubled in the last seven years, and the state already increased our property taxes to fund these increases. The district’s own website says that funding has grown by $3.3 million (12 percent) in just the last two years. Meanwhile, enrollment in the school district is declining.
I think the district needs to manage funds better not add another huge tax increase on top of the increases we got in the last couple of years. I think it is fair to vote down their attempt to give us a maximum increase and let them offer us something more fair to citizens. It is hard enough to keep people in their homes or for young people to afford housing without layers and layers of taxes.
Sue Butschun
Centralia
