The Centralia Downtown Association highlighted the Centralia School District at its Block Party at Dawn’s Delectables on Wednesday to support the district as it seeks to pass a replacement levy on the April 25 ballot.
The proposal is for the same rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value that voters approved in 2021, but due to increased property valuations, the rate would bring in a higher collection amount than permitted by the existing levy, which expires at the end of this year.
After the proposal failed on the February special election ballot, the Centralia School Board voted to place the same measure on the April ballot. State law allows school districts to run two ballot measures in a calendar year, meaning the upcoming election is the Centralia School District’s last opportunity to try and pass a levy before the existing levy expires at the end of the year.
To show its support for the Centralia School District, the Centralia Downtown Association launched a campaign earlier this month, creating decals and stickers that are available to any local business to place in their windows indicating the business’ support of Centralia schools and the students of the district.
“Our business community is a huge piece of what makes Centralia great, but we also recognize that Centralia students and support for our schools is vital to making this a great place to live and work,” MacKenzie McGee, Centralia Downtown Association executive director, previously said in a prepared statement. “We welcome any local business to reach out and we’ll deliver a decal for you to place in your business window in support of these kids and the good work our schools are doing.”
The Lewis County Auditor’s Office mailed 14,172 ballots to all active registered voters within the Centralia School District on April 5.
If ballot packets have not been received by April 15, voters can receive a replacement ballot by any of the following methods:
• Online: Go to www.votewa.gov, log in and select “My Ballot” then “Online Ballot” to print your
• Call: 360-740-1164, 360-740-1278 or toll free within Lewis County at 1-800-562-6130, ext. 1164 or ext. 1278;
• In-person: 351 NW North St., Chehalis. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25, election day.
Learn more at https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/.
More information on the levy proposal itself is available at https://www.centralia.k12.wa.us/domain/1093.
