Lyle School District is asking voters to approve continuing local levy support for district operations through a measure on the ballot February 9. This is a replacement enrichment levy, not a new tax. The district is requesting approval of collections of up to $700,000 in 2022 and again in 2023.

This is the same amount approved by voters in 2019, for 2020 and 2021. At the time, the district requested a maximum of $700,000 for each year, but also indicated total collections would almost certainly be lower.  Currently, it's estimated the district will collect slightly over $628,573 in the current year, 2020. The projected maximum collections for 2021 is $632,130. Both, as predicted, are significantly lower than the voter-authorized maximum.

The tax rate will remain among the lowest of the past decade.

Based on projected property valuations, property owners will pay approximately $1.64 per $1,000 value of their property in 2022 and $1.59 in 2023. 

Historically, the district's property owners have paid a significantly higher tax rate for their school. In 2015, property owners in the district paid $3.62 per thousand. In 2014, it was $3.42 per thousand.  

What will the proposed levy cost the average property owner?

Taxes collected in 2022 on property valued at $325,000 at an estimated total tax rate of $1.64 will equal $44.41 per month, or $10.25 a week.  For a home assessed at $350,000 in 2023, at a tax rate of $1.59 per thousand, the monthly cost will be $46.38 or $11.60 a week.

The tax rate may change somewhat, depending on property valuations and additional changes to the state's school funding laws, but by law, the district's total local tax collection cannot be more than $700,000, and is likely to be less.

Want to know how much this levy will cost you? Here's how:

1. Find your assessed valuation on the Klickitat County website.  (Know that it will probably increase slightly by 2022 and 2023 when this levy becomes effective.

2. Drop the last three numbers of your assessed valuation. Round up to the closest thousand.  So, for a home worth $324,900, round up to $325,000 and drop the zeros.

3. Multiply the number by the tax rate.  So, using our example, 325 multiplied by 1.64, we determined the house worth $325,000 in 2022 will pay $533 per year in local levy taxes.  We divided 533 by 12 to determine a monthly cost -- $44.41 -- and by 52 to determine the weekly cost - $10.25.

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