It’s all but official, and once again the Northshore community has stepped up for education.

Two days before certification, the supplemental education operations levy "yes" vote count leads 54 percent to 46, or approximately 1,500 more votes than the "no" count.

Few in the community are more pleased with the anticipated result than Northshore School District Superintendent Larry Francois, who – along with the school board – struggled with the idea to bring the vote to the people in the first place, given the fact that two levies and a bond issue were passed only six months earlier during similarly lean economic times.

Voters approved a change in the state constitution in November 2007 that lowered the approval necessary for school levies from a 60 percent "supermajority" to a simple majority – 50 percent plus one.

The August 17 election was made possible through a change in law enacted this spring which enabled school districts to seek additional funding.

"We believe we made a strong effort to solicit community input before our board considered an election to seek that additional capacity," Francois said. That effort included a series of community meetings, two mailings to every family in the district, automated phone calls prior to the community meetings, and editorials submitted to – as well as advertising purchased in – each local paper.

Francois said over 82 percent of those who chose to provide input supported putting the measure before the voters. "And that was compelling to the board," he said. "We also fully recognize the difficult economic climate and the challenges facing many families ... and the decision to run the levy was not made lightly. But as challenging as the times are, the kids in school today have one shot at their education and we feel a responsibility to provide the best opportunities possible."

Francois noted that voter turnout was larger than in the February election. "We understand and respect the range of opinions and are thankful that voters took the time to weigh the measure carefully and cast an informed ballot, regardless of how they may have voted."

An average annual property tax increase of $56 is projected for a $400,000 home over the four years of the measure, and the district could collect up to a maximum of $12 million: $4.5 million in 2011; $2.3 million in 2012; and $2.6 million in 2013 and 2014 – depending on assessed valuation changes. The district may collect only up to the amount approved by voters regardless of those changes.

Once again Francois stressed the levy would help sustain – not enhance – the district’s current educational program and said that educators anticipate further state budget cuts in the coming years – with the projected state deficit for the next two-year budget cycle at more than $3 billion.

"Also, the federal stimulus money that was being used to support the current biennial budget goes away," Francois said. Congress recently approved an additional $10 billion for education – of which the state of Washington’s share is about $205 million – but, according to Francois, there’s concern that those additional funds will simply be used to offset any across-the-board budget cuts the governor may impose to deal with continuing revenue shortfalls.

"But the long and short of it is that at best we see the supplemental levy funds helping us sustain current programs and class sizes through 2014," he said.