Wahluke SD capital levy going back to voters
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 3 months AGO
Repairs to the heating-cooling system in the gym at Wahluke High School, pictured, is among the projects on the list of the proposed Wahluke School District capital levy, which will go to voters in February.
FILE PHOTO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | December 27, 2023 4:14 PM
MATTAWA — Wahluke School District voters will consider a request for a four-year capital improvements levy in a special election Feb. 13.
If it’s approved, the levy is projected to generate about $1 million per year. Property owners would pay an estimated 99 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value if it’s approved. The owner of the property valued at $300,000 would pay $297 per year.
The levy requires a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass, according to the Grant County Auditor’s Office.
District voters rejected the same request in the Nov. 7 general election, 325 no votes to 289 yes votes.
If the levy is approved, Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said in an earlier interview that the money would be used to pay for specific repair and improvement projects. The money would not be used for other district expenses. People had asked if the money would be used for expenses like teacher salaries, Harlow said, and the answer is it would not.
All of the maintenance projects in the levy proposal have been deferred, sometimes for years, he said.
The money would be used to upgrade the heating-cooling system at Mattawa Elementary, along with repairs to the heating-cooling system in the Wahluke High School gym. The upgrades to the MES system are projected to cost about $2.7 million.
The money also would be allocated to a new track at WHS, at an estimated cost of about $350,000. The existing track is about 20 years old, is cracked and in a state of poor repair, Harlow said. Some of the money also would be used for other upgrades to the WHS football stadium, including renovating the concession stand, bathrooms and storage area.
Levy money would be used for lights at the WHS soccer field. Right now there aren’t any, which limits the field’s use and usefulness, Harlow said — among other things, some home games have to start before school is dismissed in order to be finished before it gets too dark to play.
Levy money also would be allocated to resurface the WHS tennis courts, which also are in poor repair.
Ballots will be mailed to voters in mid-January. A ballot dropoff box is available in the parking lot at the Mattawa Community Medical Clinic, 210 Government Road.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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