Washington school board approves next year’s budget

WASHINGTON — School board members voted unanimously to pass a budget for the Washington district on Wednesday night, including levies that will raise residential taxes from about $16.015 to about $16.14 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

The change is expected to bring in an extra $787,821 for the schools, most of it dedicated to refilling a debt service fund, which has been too full to tax for in the last several years.

Board Member Mike Liska made the motion, which was seconded by Kara Williams.

“We have to set a budget, we don’t really have much other choice,” Liska said. “Really, this is the only option that we have, to raise the budget so we can stay functional.“

Very little discussion preceded the vote, and no community members weighed in during a public hearing for the proposal. At previous meetings, some have complained about the increased levies, which are amplified by rising property value assessments from last year.

Longtime Washington resident Dave Miller was one such community member.

“You need to reduce costs everywhere you can, and if that means laying off people or closing facilities … we might have to,” he said at a public hearing for the budget last month. “We’re driving people and businesses out of the Washington area because of the tax rate here. It has to go down, not up.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com