Frequently Asked Questions

The levy will fund: 

• New devices 
• Internet connections 
• Upgraded cybersecurity
• Digital support and training for teachers and students in Highline
• Upgrade classroom technology

Learn more.

What is the difference between a school bond and a school levy? The simplest answer is that bonds are for building and levies are for learning. 

A school construction bond is a larger amount financed over decades to build or renovate schools. Levies are smaller amounts, by comparison, which expire after two to four years. 

Typically, a local tax levy bridges the gap on critical operating expenses not funded by state dollars, like in 2018 when voters approved an operating levy that funded additional teachers, school nurses, social workers, counselors, special education staff and more. 

Funding technology with a short-term levy, rather than as part of a long-term construction bond, makes sense because the life of a tech device is much shorter than the life of a building. The tech levy’s impact will be districtwide, not limited to upgrading technology as new schools are constructed.

The two-year $32.5-million technology levy will not increase taxes beyond the current rate. The levy would expire in two years. 

Taxpayers will see a reduction of $0.12 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2021.

See a breakdown of the tax rate for the next two years.

The school board had planned to run a school construction bond in November but concluded that this was not the right time to ask voters for a major long-term investment due to the economic downturn.

Faced with an urgent need to supplement and replace devices and hotspots for distance learning--which will extend throughout the 2020-21 school year--the School Board decided to ask voters to make a much smaller, short-term investment in technology. The state has told school districts to expect a reduction in funding for at least the next two years. We must generate local dollars if we are to fund our current technology needs.

In the past, technology has been funded out of capital bonds; the community-led Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) recommended a tech levy as a more appropriate funding vehicle.

This tech levy will not raise taxes. The tax will expire in two years. If the levy passes, taxpayers will see a reduction of $0.12 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2021.

When it is Highline’s Prop. 1.

In 2021, some older school bonds and levies expire. If approved, this means that the Highline technology levy would go into effect next year without increasing the tax rate.

Here are the tax rate facts about Prop. 1:

• The Highline technology levy will cost property owners 67 cents per $1,000 assessed property value.

• Taxpayers will see a tax rate reduction of 12 cents per $1,000 assessed property value in 2021, if approved:

  • Current tax rate is $4.45 in 2020.

  • With Prop. 1, the tax rate decreases to $4.33 in 2021, and to $4.32 in 2022.

We worked hard to get a functioning device in the hands of every Highline student K-12 this fall. We deployed every available, aging classroom Chromebook in the district and back-ordered ipads for kindergarten students.

As of September, our Technology Services team rolled out nearly 9,000 devices and served at the family assistance center, where staff responded to more than 3,000 calls and emails in a 6-day window. 

Our work continues, and includes updating and maintaining thousands of aging devices, ensuring adequate connectivity, digital training and support, and getting prepared to transition to hybrid mode when possible.

Our Technology Services team is responding to requests for service on devices and trading malfunctioning Chromebooks for repaired ones as we go. Some of our older Chromebooks are outdated and no longer capable of running every app or learning platform program.

Proposition 1 will help us meet the technology needs of students and staff during the pandemic and beyond. This technology levy will help us replace aging computers, provide hotspots for students who need them, and update cybersecurity to protect student data. 

As the state budget tightens due to the pandemic, the tech levy will fill the gaps left by state funding cuts. 

With coronavirus concerns and the economic downturn, school board members do not think November 2020 is the right time to ask voters to approve a bond to fund construction of Evergreen, Tyee and Pacific. Work will continue on the designs of these schools this fall, since the initial design work is paid for by the 2016 bond. 

One of the prior suggestions from our community-led Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) to the school board was to run a levy to fund technology needs rather than include them in a bond. 

Our best thinking at this time is that the next opportunity to run a school construction bond would be in 2022. 

Election Day is November 3, 2020. 

You can register to vote online or by mail until 8 days before an election or in-person through Election day. Registrations done by mail need to be received, not postmarked, by the 8-day deadline.

There are three ways to register to vote in our area: 

• Online  
• By mail 
• In-person

Learn more about the registration process on the King County website. 

Unsure if you are registered to vote? Check your voter registration status at vote.org.

King County Elections will mail ballots for the November 3 election on October 14. Be on the lookout for your ballot to arrive by mail the following week. 

Your ballot must be postmarked by Tuesday, November 3, in order for your vote to count. Or return your ballot at an accessible voting center or a 24-hour drop box by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Ballots must be postmarked by November 3, 2020 or returned to a ballot drop box by 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020. See a list of ballot drop box locations. 

Learn more about the election process by visiting the King County Elections website.