ROYAL CITY — Royal City voters are seeing a $1.37 million school district levy on the Feb. 11 ballot.

The Royal School District is running a two-year replacement Educational Programs and Operation levy to support and maintain existing educational programs in the district.

“Funding for education in our state is complicated,” said Roger Trail, superintendent for the Royal School District, in a press release. “The reality is that state dollars don’t fully cover the actual cost to operate most schools. We, like many other districts, use levies to help bridge this gap in funding. We’re extremely grateful to our community for their history of supporting our school levies over the years.”

The levy supports athletics, extracurricular activities, staffing for small classroom sizes, technology, CTE programs, counselors and nurses, as well as other things.

In 2018, voters approved a levy with a proposed tax rate of $1.75 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2019 and $1.72 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2020. Due to the McCleary decision, the levy rate was dropped to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2019 and $1.57 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2020. The levy passed in 2019 expires this year.

The replacement levy, if passed, will take effect in 2021. The levy rate is estimated to be $1.64 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2021 and $1.59 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2022. The total amount the levy would be collecting is $1.37 million per year. All school levies are capped at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Ballots with the levy on them have already been mailed to residents. Ballots are due back on Feb. 11.

More information on the levy can be viewed at royalsd.org/levy or by calling 509-346-2222.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via [email protected].