You don’t have to drive far in Centralia to see the orange and black signs in front lawns proclaiming the simple, bolded phrase: Vote Yes Schools.
The Centralia School District — and the community group Citizens for Centralia Schools — is hoping the message sticks come Feb. 10, when local taxpayers will decide whether to renew the district’s Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy that expires this year.
The three-year levy aims to replace the district’s current local property tax, which creates revenue for programs and services not funded — either fully or at all — under state law.
Ballots have already been mailed and are due in drop boxes by 8 p.m. on election day.
The new levy would tax property owners an estimated $1.70 per $1,000 of assessed value starting in 2027. The current levy ends Dec. 31, 2026.
According to the district, the typical homeowner would pay $56.66 per month, or $680 per year. Right now, the typical homeowner pays about $49.22 per month, or $590.66 per year.
The district says approving the levy will “cover the gap between state funding and the cost of programs, services and operations.”
A simple majority — that is, 50% of the votes plus one — results in the levy passing.
A levy failure, on the other hand, would likely result in program and staff reductions affecting teaching positions, school sports, art, music, counseling and more, according to the district.
The Centralia School Board held a forum at Centralia High School last Thursday to discuss the levy in detail and answer questions directly from the community. Though it was sparsely attended, district officials and levy supporters expressed hope that this was due to their proactive messaging and dedicated door-to-door outreach.
Joe Vetter, the district’s executive director of fiscal services, led the audience through a detailed presentation that described how the potential funding would be used across the three years, including line items for everything from summer school, counselors, and bus discipline monitors to athletics, visual and performing arts, nurses and more.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant noted that the district’s proposal is lower than the actual levy rates for seven neighboring districts, including Chehalis, Rainier, Rochester and Tenino.
For example, Rainier has a current tax rate of $2.48 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
“What that means is, as we work to be fiscally responsible and still move our students forward and provide for them, we have less resources to help meet our students,” Grant said.
Grant emphasized the upcoming levy is replacing the existing levy, not adding on to it. The new levy would go into effect January 2027 through December 2029.
Vetter noted that the district worked hard to find the “comfortable spot” where they could get the financial support needed without asking for too much.
“The board met numerous times and debated quite a bit about the right amount and how to be sensitive to the tax burden on our taxpayers and our community members and know the needs of our students to continue to move our district forward,” Grant added.
Reasons for the proposed $1.70 amount also included the rising costs of inflation, according to the board. The three-year duration — which includes estimated increases of 5 cents in both year two and year three — is intended to provide stability to the district’s various programs.
Board President Tim Browning said the board recognized this was a time of “great stress” for people in the community, and said they were cognizant of people’s financial situations.
“We tried to deal with that as much as we possibly could. We tried to be as conservative as we could.” Browning said. “At the same time, we felt that we could not go backwards.”
Browning, who described the district as “lean and mean,” acknowledged the past double levy failures that “slowed the district down,” and said the board felt this proposal was “absolutely necessary to try to keep that positive momentum going.”
“Our students feel that,” Browning said. “They’re concerned about whether or not their programs are going to be there, whether their athletic programs are going to be there.”
He added that elections themselves cost money. Grant and the board, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of passing levies for business and property owners.
“When someone's coming to buy a home, they look at, do levies pass?” Grant said. “And when businesses look to move to an area, they look at what’s the strength of the school district. Do they pass levies? Because if they don't, one, people can't afford to live and work there and thrive, and if they do, that helps build their customer base as well as their employee base.”
In that way, Grant said, the levy not only impacts the students but the community as well — both in the long term and the short term.
Board member Kayla Mounts warned that a failed levy would harm the district’s ability to attract the area’s best teachers.
“Intentional teachers, strong teachers are not going to want to come to a community that cannot pass a levy,” Mounts said. “And I think our scores (and) education outcomes with our students has been a huge concern for our community. And I think if you do not pass the levy, you're going to continue to go down because you're not going to get the quality of teacher to support your kids or the quality of admin, or the resources to be an intentional teacher.”
“It’s our legacy,” Browning said at the conclusion of the meeting. “It’s our heritage.”
For a comprehensive guide to the levy, visit centraliaschooldistrict.org.
To learn more about how to vote, visit https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/current-election.
