Ballot Issues

Seattle School District Proposition No. 2

Technology Levy

The Municipal League Has No Recommendation

Summary

Proposition No. 2, the Seattle School District's technology levy, asks Seattle voters to authorize the levy of excess property taxes to be collected over a four-year period, from 1997 through 2000, to raise $75 million for technology. Passage of the levy requires both (1) validation, or a voter turnout of at least 40 percent of the District voters voting at the last State general election (the November 1995 election), and (2) a 60 percent affirmative vote.

NOTE: Proposition No. 2, the technology levy, is to be voted on separately from the District's Proposition No. 1, a maintenance and operations levy also on the February 6 ballot.

The levy is the second phase of the District's technology program, begun in 1991 with the one-year, voter-approved levy of $21.7 million. All but $277,000 of the 1991 levy proceeds have been spent by the District. The first phase of the technology program placed more than 5,000 computers and large amounts of other equipment in the schools; created an educational TV studio; funded 37 technology grants to schools; computerized all District library records; provided administrative and staff training in the use of computer technologies; and provided 1,570 take-home computers for teachers.

Of the $75 million to be raised by this levy, the District plans to allocate the proceeds as follows:

Program	Levy Allocation
Tools for Schools	$ 8,240,000
(Purchase of computers and other technology; update existing equipment to run new software; add CD-ROM capability and more workstations at libraries; acquisition of specialized equipment for special education students.)
Network Infrastructure	42,900,000
(Wire every classroom for access to the Internet, World Wide Web and broad-band cable; significantly improve teacher-parent communication with electronic mail, voicemail, and telephones to all staff and teachers.)
Teacher Tools	2,750,000
(Provide a dedicated computer for each teacher for training, curriculum review, and classroom support; train teachers to integrate computers into classrooms and to use new technology effectively.)
School Support Systems	13,650,000
(Provide equipment and software to create a new district-wide data system, accessible from each school location, including human resources, financial, and other administrative information.)
Maintenance, Spares, and Support Tools	1,560,000
(Develop a spare technology pool to ensure timely repair and replacement, and provide tools and training for staff to install, monitor, and maintain the new technology systems.)
Teacher and Staff Training	5,900,000
(Provide training and classes for staff, including teachers and administrators, in use of new technologies and data systems.)
TOTAL	$ 75,000,000

The average annual cost to a District taxpayer of the levy, if approved, is estimated by the District at $64 for the owner of a $150,000 home, beginning in 1997. However, the amount proposed to be levied by the District varies from year to year over the four-year period, with actual cost in each collection year projected as follows:

Collection Year	Levy Rate (per $1,000 of assessed value)	Levy Amount	Excess Tax on $150,000 Home
1997	$0.58	$25,000,000	$87.00
1998	0.69	30,000,000	104.00
1999	0.02	1,000,000	3.00
2000	0.42	19,000,000	63.00
		$75,000,000	$257.00

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