Mead School District voters will be asked to vote on a three-year replacement levy for educational programs and operations on the Special Election ballot on February 13, 2024.
Click each box here to find additional information about the February 2024 Replacement Levy
INFORMATION SESSIONS TIMES & DATES
This replacement levy is not a new tax, it replaces a three-year levy that was approved by voters in 2021 and expires at the end of 2024.
The replacement levy supports the Mead School District's commitment to learning and teaching, focuses on greater educational opportunity for all students and ensures ongoing funding for essential services and valued extra-curricular and co-curricular programs. Strategic priorities developed through community feedback are the backbone of the replacement levy and are fundamental to the student experience. These improvements, among others, will continue to strengthen our schools and prepare our students for the future.
What are school levies for?
Levies provide local funding that bridges the gap between what the state and federal governments pay and the actual costs of operating our schools at the level that our community wants and expects. Levies support essential programs, staff and services and make up about 13.6% of the district's total operating revenue.
The replacement levy supports the Mead School District's commitment to learning and teaching, focuses on equity and access for all students and ensures ongoing funding for essential services that meet needs of students and teachers.
School levies also activate equalization dollars from the state called Local Effort Assistance (LEA). When a levy is passed, the state provides additional funding to enhance student access to educational enrichments.
Levy Facts Packet (Printable PDF)
What will the levy cost taxpayers?
If approved by voters on Feb. 13, the estimated levy tax rate for Mead School District would be $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. For a $400,000 home, that equals $1,000 per year or about $83 per month.
The table below shows the previous and upcoming tax rates for the District, which will remain among the average of all school districts in the Spokane County area.
| Year | Levy | Bonds | Total (per $1,000 assessed property value) |
| 2017 | $4.01 | $1.27 | $5.28 * |
| 2018 | $3.68 | $1.19 | $4.87 * |
| 2019 | $1.50 | $1.93 | $3.43 |
| 2020 | $1.47 | $1.86 | $3.33 |
| 2021 | $1.47 | $1.86 | $3.33 |
| 2022 | $1.96 | $1.62 | $3.57 |
| 2023 | $1.63 | $1.35 | $2.98 |
| 2024 | $1.68 | $1.31 | $2.99 ^ |
| 2025-27 | $2.50 | $1.15 | $3.65 ^ |
* Before the Washington State "McCleary Decision" that capped school levies
^ Estimated tax rate based on projected assessed valuation
What does a levy fund?
The current levy funds many different areas that fall outside of state-funded basic education, including items our community has come to expect of the Mead School District:
- Extra-curricular activities (sports, music, activities and clubs)
- Elective courses, staff for smaller class sizes, career-track and work-based learning opportunities
- Student support (nurses, para educators, counselors and social workers)
- More here...