Three YES Votes for Schools
Mercer Island has remained a bargain compared to surrounding neighborhoods In 2009, Total levy rates per $1000 of assessed value were $1.81 per $1000 of accessed value, lagging all surrounding areas but Seattle including Bellevue, Kent and Shoreline.
According to a recent Cyberhomes Study
According to real estate industry expert Cyberhomes, their 2009 Home Value-Schools Ratings Report Card showed that "terrific schools equals premium prices." In their analyis of nearly 6,000 zip codes:
"Median home sales prices in ZIP codes with very-high-rated schools were 62 percent higher than those in ZIPs with average schools and more than 92 percent higher than those with low-rated schools. Looking at it from another angle, ZIPs with mediocre or low-ranking schools had median home values below the average for their broader market, while ZIP codes with top-notch schools commanded a 31 percent premium over the market as a whole."
By the way, 98040 rates a perfect "10" in the "GreatSchools" ranking that was used in the analysis. Read more about it here.
School Levies Now Must Pick Up the Difference
Last school year, the Mercer Island School district was faced with a $1 million budget reduction due to dramatically reduced state funding. This cut fell on the heels of three years of large budget reductions, with $3 million, or approximately 8%, of the district budget being cut since 2006:
MISD Budget Cuts
2006-07 $500,000
2007-08 $500,000
2008-09 $1,000,000
2009-10 $1,000,000
Last years cuts were deep--requiring the district to reduce staff and programs; Only through a heroic Schools Foundation effort did the district escape losing teachers. Unfortunately, another $1 million reduction in state funding is expected for the coming 2010-11 year. Passage of Mercer Island's three local school levies has never been more important. With state budget cuts, the funding is required to simply maintain the programs and staff that are currently in place.
GENERAL FUND REVENUE--MISD
MERCER ISLAND JUST ABOUT AVERAGE ON TOTAL REVENUE PER STUDENT
Mercer Island ranks 166th our of 295 Washington School Districts for revenue from all sources. Mercer Island spend $9,526.59 per student with the state average being $9,344.10. Interestingly, Seattle spends 16% more at $11,101 and Bellevue spend a bit more at $9.790.
Worse yet, we rank in the bottom 10% for funding that comes from the state, ranking 288th out of 295 districts. This is a real testament to our school administration, staff and board, providing great schools so efficiently. School levy's make up 23.6% of school revenue--a critical componant of our great schools.
School Finance 101
STATE FUNDING | Basic Education
Washington State has a constitutional duty to provide funding for state schools. State funding is intended to cover the cost of "basic education programs", but comes far from funding an outstanding educational system such as the one found on Mercer Island. Last year, decreased state funding required a $2M MISD budget reduction, and this year similar reductions are expected.
LOCAL FUNDING | School Levies
School districts can also raise funds from local levies for enhancements to the state's basic education programs. Prior to 1977, there was no limit to the amounts that school districts could raise from local levies. In 1977, the legistature passed the Levy Lid Act which limited how much communities could raise through school district levies.
SCHOOL LEVIES| Mercer Island
Mercer Island has a strong history of supporting school levies close to its Levy Lid level of 33.67%. In fact, school levy's pay for 23.6% of total district revenues including 88 teachers and staff, the 7-period day at the high school, most athletic programs, and a lower-than-state funded student-to-teacher ratio. In 2010, the state legislature will consider increasing the levy lid as they decrease state funding. The amount of this increase will not be known prior to the election, but is anticipated in the General Levy ask.
