At around 8 p.m. on Tuesday my phone started buzzing with questions about the results of Marysville’s operating levy. After the results went final at 9 p.m., I was involved in non-stop text conversations with several people. By 10 p.m. I had carpal tunnel.
I later realized the texting was so aggressive because I had positioned myself to play devil’s advocate to voters on both sides of the issue. I could empathize and factually defend the arguments of both “yes” and “no” voters. I spent the night trying pull back the curtain for my acquaintances so they could understand the mind of the “opposition.”
Marysville’s school levy polarized the district and both sides are absolutely correct in their reasoning.
Supporters said the district has been a good steward of taxpayer dollars, appearing before voters infrequently, despite having funding sources siphoned off by a handful of state and local sources. They pointed to growing student enrollment, expanding programs and the necessity of competitive pay for educators in the face of a teacher supply shortage.
All of those points are accurate. The district hasn’t passed a true “new money issue” since 2008, per-pupil spending is below the state average and enrollment is growing by 100 students per year.
Those opposing the 8.4-mill levy said the price was just too high. It would generate $9.6 million per year and cost the owner of a $200,000 home almost $600 of fresh charges on their tax bills. The request comes less than three months after nearly all homeowners saw their property values and resulting taxes climb nearly 30% through the county revaluation process. Couple that with elevated gas prices, climbing utility bills and surging inflation that has jacked up the price of everything from groceries to garden hoses. This also comes on the heels of a pandemic that caused a lot of people to realize just how fragile national and personal finances can be.
“No” voters said it was not the right time to ask households to give away hundreds of additional dollars – and they were correct.
As a storyteller I know a tale is more engaging when there is a bad guy, but that isn’t the case here. There is no miserly old man who hates kids. There isn’t a money-stealing troll under the bed. There simply is no bogeyman at the ballot in the Marysville school levy.
And I think that is what the community needs to take away from this levy defeat. The other side of the issue isn’t an enemy. Earlier in this column I used the term opposition but I put it in quote marks, because I don’t think the majority of people who voted “no” on the levy oppose the schools. They were forced to choose the responsibility to their families over the fiscal health of the school.
Both sides need each other and must lean into empathy if the community hopes to move forward.
School officials and employees must continue to understand the pinch on families, through the lens that a 900-vote loss provides.
I know lists of teacher salaries trickled out on social media ahead of the levy and some of those numbers shocked members of the public. Those surprised by the numbers need to take the time to understand the costs associated with locking down quality teachers for our children.
There is another cost associated with this levy – $.75. The cost of this newspaper.
I have been covering this school district for years, long before the current superintendent, treasurer or any of the school board members were in place. I detailed the buildup to the May 2 vote. I was there years before the pandemic when Treasurer Todd Johnson predicted this need for operating funds. I was there when officials originally considered an income tax but were swayed back to a property tax based on focus groups. I was there when the school board voted to drop the levy millage from 9.9 to 8.4 to ease the burden on the taxpayer.
I refuse to follow people-in-the-know groups, and their like, on social media. Those groups are comically misnamed and only serve to spread half-truths at best. I would not want to live next door to the people on Nextdoor. Offering opinions is one thing, but spreading supposition as fact to sound important behind a keyboard is irresponsible.
Residents who use those unchecked online nuggets as levy research may be the only voters who don’t have stance of value.
–Chad Williamson is the managing editor at the Journal-Tribune.