Disappointment was the prevailing emotion in the Centralia School District office boardroom during the board’s discussion of the levy on Wednesday.
At the time, the district’s replacement levy proposal was failing 50.74% to 49.26%, or 2,705 votes to 2,626 votes, on the April 25 special election ballot. The next count won’t be released until May 4, according to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office.
Because the district tried and failed to pass the proposal in February and state law only allows schools to run a ballot measure twice per calendar year, this election was the last chance the Centralia School District had to pass a replacement levy before the current levy expires at the end of December.
There are still ballots left to count, but district staff do not anticipate there will be enough to push the measure into the 50% plus one vote needed to pass.
“Maybe there is hope for success. We will know that in a few days,” board chair Tim Browning said during Wednesday’s board meeting.
The board members took time during that meeting to individually thank Superintendent Lisa Grant, district staff and community members who supported the levy and encouraged people to vote.
“I understand you can vote no. I’d just love to hear why,” board member Vicki Jackson said. “I understand that we’re all facing inflation and taxes just never seem to end, but I really would love to hear the rationale. It’s very disheartening to be sitting here and trying to do the right thing for our kids.”
The Centralia School District last operated without levy dollars between December 2020 and the 2022 levy collection cycle — leading to layoffs last summer — after multiple attempts to pass a replacement levy failed at the ballot box.
Because levy collections run on calendar years and not school years, the budget for the 2023-2024 school year would still include about $2.3 million from the levy that expires at the end of this year. But that budget would still have to include roughly $2.3 million in proposed cuts, which would likely have significant impacts to staffing and enrollment, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
“We’re disappointed but she (Lisa Grant) is so positive and we’re moving on to the next step. Is it the dream that we had? No, but we’re going to make a different dream and it’ll work out. We’ll keep going. I hope we don’t lose students because of this, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” board member Deb Parnham said.
“One way or the other, we have to take the next step. That’s what we’re all committed to doing. Whatever that looks like,” said board vice president Mandi McDougall.
Browning relayed questions he has heard from community members about the proposed levy rate: $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, which would allow the district to collect no more than $6.7 million in 2024 and no more than $7.6 million in 2025. The district’s existing levy allows it to collect no more than $4.6 million for the current year.
Browning responded to those questions about the amount by saying the numbers in the levy proposal “weren’t numbers that were picked out of the air. They were based on what we believed and our administration believed were the best ways to take our children forward, take our students forward, to get them in a better place.”
He later added, “You put your board in the position, along with the superintendent, to do the best they could to bring your children’s education to the next stage. We tried to do that to the best of our ability.”
Strong emotions over the levy’s failure weren’t limited to members of the school board: students are struggling to come to terms with what the vote says about the community’s support for their education.
“A lot of them are disappointed, but more than feel hurt, I feel like that’s translating into anger because they want to know why,” board member Maritza Brazo said.
To Centralia students, Parnham said, “I would like you to take back to your school that it’s not personal. I mean, you are supported … it’s a tough one to try and see that as not personal, but we stand behind you.”
Brazo echoed Parnham’s sentiment, saying, “I do want students to know that there are adults in the community who do care about them and do want them to succeed, and who want to support them in any way, shape or form and I hope the support outweighs the feeling that they’re not cared for, because they are.”
Through the sadness and disappointment in the levy’s failure, however, the board members expressed pride for the Centralia School District and a commitment to having hope for the future.
“I just think it’s important to remember that Centralia School District is not a series of buildings, it’s a community of people who all care for one another and we need to remain committed to our school district and advocate for students and what we have,” said student representative Madison Buchanan, who is a senior at Centralia High School.
“I know that this time is very scary and uncertain … but there’s still hope that we’ll be able to rise above,” she said.
