Othello School Board to consider capital levy next week
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 hours, 16 minutes AGO
Lutacaga Elementary would be on the list for upgrades if the Othello School Board approves submitting a capital levy to district patrons and voters approve it.
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. | November 3, 2026 5:50 PM
OTHELLO — Othello School Board members will decide Nov. 9 whether or not to ask Othello School District patrons for a capital levy in a special election in February 2027.
If school board members approve the proposal, voters would be asked to consider a six-year levy. If the levy were approved, property owners would pay 97 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value per year. District Superintendent Pete Perez said a capital levy is new to Othello, and that the money, if it's approved, would be spent for specific projects.
Othello Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek said all the proposed projects that have been identified are included in the information that will be sent to district patrons.
"It's to be very specific so people know where that money is going," Meek told board members at the Oct. 26 meeting.
Any money that's not allocated to a specific project would be spent for projects in specific categories.
If approved, the money would be spent to add gymnasium space at Hiawatha, Lutacaga and Scootney Springs elementary schools, and upgrade some of the district's food service facilities. Also listed are roof repairs and replacement and other safety upgrades, which Meek detailed in a Sept. 14 discussion.
The possible projects include parking lot and paving upgrades at OSD's transportation facility and other district facilities, as well as playground upgrades at all OSD elementary schools. Meek said the roof at Lutacaga Elementary is one that is in need of repair.
District officials are considering asking voters for a construction bond in the next two to three years to pay for upgrades to or replacement of Othello High School. Current school board members have said that if a construction bond were approved, they would not collect the remaining years of the capital levy. Board member Aaron Gerber asked about that at the Oct. 26 meeting.
Perez said in a later interview that the current board can't restrict the actions of a future board in that way, but that future board members would have to take the public commitment made by the current board into account.
"You've made a very strong commitment that you intend to follow through on that path and that's what you want to have happen," Meek told board members.
The recommendation will be the first result of a months-long study by a committee looking at the district's current and future facility needs. Members of the "Future-Ready Schools" committee also looked at the possibility of the construction bond but have ruled it out in 2027.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Othello city officials warn residents to beware of invoice scam
OTHELLO — Othello city officials are warning residents to pay careful attention if they receive what looks like an invoice from the city after a resident reported an attempted scam using information from city records. Community Development Director Anne Henning said the scammer was thorough. "They used our seal, our watermark; they had detailed information," she said. The scam email claimed to be from the city's building and planning department, looking for payment for a building permit. Henning said the city does send out invoices for some services, including building and planning services like building permits, as well as plan reviews, application fees and related services.
Othello School Board to consider capital levy next week
OTHELLO — Othello School Board members will decide Nov. 9 whether or not to ask Othello School District patrons for a capital levy in a special election in February 2027. If school board members approve the proposal, voters would be asked to consider a six-year levy. If the levy were approved, property owners would pay 97 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value per year. District Superintendent Pete Perez said a capital levy is new to Othello, and that the money, if it's approved, would be spent for specific projects. Othello Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek said all the proposed projects that have been identified are included in the information that will be sent to district patrons.
GC Public Utility District proposed rates subject of Nov. 10 hearing
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District customers are being invited to submit their reactions to proposed 2027 electrical rates at a hearing at 2 p.m. Nov. 10 in the PUD commission meeting room, 30 C St. SW, Ephrata. There's also a virtual option for people who can't attend the meeting in person; the link is under the "2027 rates" tab on the PUD website, grantpud.org.