2025 Levy Frequently Asked Questions

A levy supports school funding by providing local financial resources that supplement state and federal funding, which often fall short of fully covering the costs of running a school district. Levies are approved by voters and typically fund specific areas such as:

Day-to-Day Operations: Levies can cover unfunded operational expenses like teacher salaries, support staff, and classroom supplies.

Educational Programs: Levies often fund programs like extracurricular activities, arts and athletics, which is not fully supported by state funding.

Technology and Curriculum: Levy funds can be used to purchase updated technology, textbooks, and other educational materials.

Maintenance and Facilities: Levies sometimes provide for building maintenance, safety improvements and facility upgrades that are not covered by state dollars.

Levies are a crucial part of a school district’s budget, allowing districts to maintain and enhance the quality of education for students.

Levies are local taxes that school districts collect to supplement state funding for various needs. Locally approved levies unlock levy equalization funds from the state. These funds are provided to districts that have passed local levies and have below average property valuations. Each type of levy serves a different purpose:

Capital Levy:

A capital levy funds long-term infrastructure and facility needs. This includes projects like building new schools, renovating existing buildings and upgrading technology. It may also be used for major repairs, such as fixing roofs or upgrading heating systems. Essentially, capital levies address big, physical investments that benefit the school district over many years.

EP&O Levy (Educational Programs & Operations Levy):

An EP&O levy, sometimes referred to as a maintenance and operations levy, supports daily operational expenses that aren’t fully covered by state funding. These expenses include teacher salaries, instructional materials, special programs (like arts, sports, and after-school activities), transportation costs and utilities. It covers ongoing, day-to-day costs that help schools run smoothly but aren’t part of long-term building or capital needs.

Transportation Levy:

A transportation levy is specifically designed to fund student transportation needs, such as buying new buses or upgrading the bus fleet, ensuring buses are safe and fuel-efficient or maintaining transportation infrastructure. It focuses on ensuring students have reliable, safe transport to and from school and school activities.

These levies are all voted on by the local community, and they provide crucial funding that helps school districts meet both immediate and long-term needs that state funding might not fully cover.

A school levy is necessary because state and federal funding often does not fully cover the costs of operating a school district and providing a quality education. Levies may be needed to cover:

• Funding Gaps: State and federal funding formulas don’t always meet the district's specific needs, leaving gaps that levies fill to maintain basic programs and services.
• Operational Costs: Costs for staffing and everyday operations are often higher than what the state funding provides. A levy ensures schools can continue running efficiently.
• Educational Programs: Many specialized programs, such as advanced placement courses, arts and extracurricular activities, are not fully funded by the state. A levy helps sustain these offerings.
• Facility Maintenance and Upgrades: Aging school buildings and equipment require regular maintenance and upgrades to ensure a safe and modern learning environment, which often requires additional funding through a levy.
• Technology and Learning Resources: As technology becomes more integral to education, levies are needed to provide schools with up-to-date tools, software and learning materials.
• Preparing for the Future: A levy can help school districts plan for future growth and ensure that facilities, programs and staff can accommodate increasing student populations.

Without a levy, school districts may face cuts to programs, increased class sizes, outdated resources and insufficient support for students and staff.

Although the financial specifics of the levy are still being reviewed, the need for funding is certain. The Ephrata School District plans to use levy dollars to fund:

FULLY FUNDED BY LEVY DOLLARS:

• Athletics at EHS and EMS (roughly 1,100 participants in '23-'24 school year)
• Activities at ALL K-12 Schools (roughly 600 participants in '23-'24 school year)

PARTIALLY FUNDED BY LEVY DOLLARSL

• Elective Classes
• Instructional Technology
• Staff Training
• Unfunded College in the High School Expenditures
• Safety & Security
• Unfunded Materials, Supplies & Operating Costs

Roughly 10 percent of the Ephrata School District's annual budget relies on levy dollars. Levies make a substantial impact on the district's financial health.

HISTORIC LEVY RATES

2029 (Proposed): $1.85
2028 (Proposed): $1.85
2027 (Proposed): $1.85
2026 (Proposed): $1.85
2025 (Approved): $2.03
2024 (Approved): $1.99
2023 (Approved): $1.94
2022 (Approved): $1.85

A levy is different from a bond in both its purpose and how the funds are used:

Purpose:

Levy: Levies are used to fund day-to-day operational expenses of a school district. This includes things like teacher salaries, educational programs, technology and maintenance of facilities.

Bond: Bonds are used for capital projects, such as building new schools, making major renovations to existing facilities or making large, long-term investments in infrastructure.

How Funds Are Raised:

Levy: Levies are funded through local property taxes, and they need voter approval. They are typically short-term (lasting a few years) and must be renewed by voters. Locally approved levies unlock levy equalization funds from the state. These funds are provided to districts that have passed local levies and have below average property valuations.

Bond: Bonds are like loans. The school district borrows money to pay for large projects and then repays that debt over time, usually over 10-30 years, through property taxes. Bonds also require voter approval.

Remember: "Levies are for learning; bonds are for building."

While levies support the everyday functioning of schools, bonds fund the construction or renovation of buildings and other long-term capital needs.
 

Voters have consistently approved levies that pay for services and needs in our schools that not funded by state education dollars and bonds that maintain and enhance schools throughout the district. For additional information on past levies please see the 2019 Bond and Levy, 2021 Levy and 2022 Levy pages linked above.

February 2025