You may have noticed that the estimated tax rate associated with Proposition 1, the Highline Schools Bond, was updated during the first week of October.
The tax rate estimate changed when King County updated its projections for property values. (The county is now projecting much slower growth in property values than earlier projections.) The school district updated its website and materials shortly after this was posted by the county.
While this change impacted the estimate for the bond tax rate, it does not affect the dollar amount homeowners would pay for the bond. This is because voters approve a dollar amount, not a tax rate.
The tax rate is the county's estimate of what it will take to generate the amount approved by voters. If property values rise, the tax rate must decrease to come up with the approved amount.
The district does NOT collect more money when home values increase.
The district can influence the amount collected from taxpayers in a given year by staging bond sales in portions. The district does not sell all the bonds for the entire amount at one time. By selling the bonds in smaller portions over time, costs are spread over time.
The district's goal is to keep taxes stable. The amount homeowners would pay for the new bond is equivalent to the amount they now pay for bonds and levies that are expiring at the end of this year.
While it is unlikely that every homeowner would pay the exact same amount as they did last year, it is anticipated that most homeowners would pay about the same amount in 2023 for taxes going to Highline Public Schools as they are paying in 2022.