Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Tumwater City Council adopted a resolution in support of Proposition 1, a replacement levy for the Tumwater School District., which is on the Feb. 10 Special Election ballot.
The council passed the resolution after holding a public hearing on the district’s Replacement Safety, Technology, & Capital Improvements Levy at a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
City Administrator Paul Simmons told council members that state law requires the city to hold a public hearing before adopting a resolution to support a ballot measure.
He said if approved by voters, the levy would replace the district’s current levy, which expires this year, and generate up to $49.1 million over the next six years.
Four people spoke during the public hearing, three of whom directly addressed the levy.
Tumwater School District Superintendent Kevin Bogatin said the levy was necessary to address aging infrastructure throughout the district’s 13 schools.
The levy money would also help upgrade building systems, improve safety and security systems, and upgrade instructional technology equipment.
Other uses of the tax would go toward safety and traffic improvements around the school campuses.
A full list of projects to be funded by the levy and their associated costs are detailed in this document here.
Tuwmater School District Board of Directors member Melissa Beard also addressed the council during the public hearing. She highlighted schools as the common ground for communities.
“I don’t want to pretend that we haven’t had controversies, but as a board member, I’ve seen firsthand that investing in our schools is where we find common ground,” Beard said.
“This replacement levy represents our commitment to maintaining infrastructure and tools our students need without asking for more than what our community is already providing.”
Port of Olympia Commissioner Joel Hansen also spoke during the hearing to support the levy, saying workforce development starts with schools.
If approved, the levy would start at $0.53 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2027 and gradually increase to $0.74 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2032.
3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
JW
Vote NO on all school levies. We are drowning in taxation.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
Taxpayer
Maybe we should ask Tumwater School District to start improving the outcomes for our kids using the budgets they have before wasting more tax dollars. VOTE NO ON THE SCHOOL LEVY!
Saturday, February 7 Report this
mathisje
There are few, if any, better use of money than investing in safe, well-maintained, modernized schools for kids. They are the future. This is a replacement levy which is a necessity only because we do not have a state income tax. Nationally, about half of school funding comes from states. One reason I retired to Washington is lower taxes. Despite a myriad of fees and other costs, the savings have remained significant. The notion that rotting schools will incentivize some unspecified level of student performance is nonsensical.
Sunday, February 8 Report this