When a school levy comes before voters, families want to know what it will pay for, what it will cost and how it fits with the money schools already receive. Those questions matter year-round, especially when headlines about rising spending appear alongside news of budget cuts.
For readers in Marysville, Tulalip, Arlington, Lakewood, Stanwood, Camano Island, Lake Stevens, Granite Falls and Darrington, the starting point is to compare the same kind of spending over the same period. Then look at the levy serving your address.
This guide brings together actual spending reported to Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, and the districts’ own levy information. Financial figures below cover the completed 2024–25 school fiscal year. Current levy information was checked Nov. 13, 2026.
First, separate the different kinds of school money
The general fund pays for a district’s day-to-day work. Its revenue can include state funding, local taxes and federal funding. A district’s adopted budget is its spending plan; its annual financial report records what it actually spent. A larger proposed budget and a larger completed-year expenditure total are different claims.
An Educational Programs and Operations levy, usually shortened to EP&O, provides local operating support. Washington law permits enrichment beyond the state’s statutory basic-education program, including additional staffing, course offerings and extracurricular activities. That is why teaching positions can appear on a levy list: additional staff beyond the state funding formula are among the authorized uses. See RCW 28A.150.276.
A capital or technology levy collects money over its approved period for authorized projects. A bond allows a district to borrow for capital work, with repayment handled through its debt-service fund. Read those project lists separately from the operating levy. A school may have money for a roof, security work or devices while facing a shortage in its operating budget.
There are specific rules and exceptions for these funds, including some technology, training and major-maintenance uses. A building account is not an unrestricted reserve for any expense. The governing details are in Washington’s school-fund law and school-bond law.
The state constitution, Article IX, section 1, makes provision for children’s education the state’s paramount duty. Whether state funding adequately meets that obligation is a separate question from whether a district has an approved local levy.
What our local districts actually spent
These are 2024–25 actual general-fund expenditures, rather than current budget requests or ballot amounts. Total spending is rounded to the nearest $100,000. The per-pupil column is calculated by dividing each district’s total by OSPI’s financial-reporting enrollment measure, then rounding to the nearest dollar.
| School district | Actual general-fund spending | Calculated per pupil |
|---|---|---|
| Marysville | $192.4 million | $20,477 |
| Arlington | $101.5 million | $17,974 |
| Lakewood | $50.9 million | $19,250 |
| Stanwood-Camano | $91.9 million | $18,944 |
| Lake Stevens | $181.8 million | $18,207 |
| Granite Falls | $43.8 million | $19,084 |
| Darrington | $10.4 million | $24,274 |
How to read the table: OSPI’s enrollment measure combines full-time-equivalent enrollment with some program headcounts. It is not a count of unique children. The source row called “Stanwood” is Stanwood-Camano School District, which serves Camano Island and northwest Snohomish County. Separate capital-project and debt-service funds have not been added to these totals; the general fund itself can include some capital purchases.
The figures come from OSPI’s 2024–25 district expenditure workbook, checked against its district comparison workbook. OSPI provides the definitions and other years on its Financial Reporting Summary page.
These numbers describe spending. By themselves, they cannot tell a family whether a district is efficient, adequately funded or meeting a particular child’s needs. District size, the services provided and the students being served need to be part of that assessment.
What the statewide increase tells us
OSPI’s statewide reports show general-fund spending rising from about $14.28 billion in 2017–18 to $21.08 billion in 2024–25, an increase of 47.6%. Financial-reporting enrollment fell about 2.2% over that period, while reported spending per pupil rose from approximately $12,835 to $19,371.
Those are dollars spent at the time, without adjusting for inflation. They also combine spending supported by several revenue sources. The increase should not be described as a 47.6% increase in state funding alone.
Administration figures need similar care. Using a consistent broad grouping of functions, administrative spending grew from approximately $1.82 billion to $2.54 billion. Its share of total spending fell from about 12.75% to 12.03%. That grouping includes principals and supervision of instruction, food service, transportation and maintenance, as well as central offices. It is broader than superintendent salaries or district headquarters.
Sources: OSPI’s 2017–18 statewide financial tables and 2024–25 statewide tables, particularly Tables One, Two and Five.
What to check in your district
School-district boundaries do not follow every city or postal boundary. Check the district serving your address before using a levy estimate. Camano Island is included in Stanwood-Camano’s information below.
Marysville
Marysville says its replacement operating levy is planned for the Feb. 9, 2027 election, with proposed collections in 2028–31. It has not yet been approved by voters. The district says local levy support helps pay for counselors and nurses, special education and paraeducators, substitutes, safety, music and arts, athletics, and grounds and maintenance.
Start with the district’s 2027 levy page. Our Marysville levy-meeting guide explains the presentation schedule. The finance archive and school-board page provide routes to financial documents and decisions; check the year on each document, because the finance landing page still links a 2025–26 budget.
Arlington
Arlington’s operating and capital levies were approved in February 2024 for collections in 2025–28. The operating levy supports instruction, special education, technology, maintenance and extracurricular activities. The separate capital levy pays for building and infrastructure work, including roofs, heating and ventilation, and technology infrastructure.
The district identifies the phased Arlington High School roof replacement among its 2024 capital-levy projects. Its 2026–27 budget page links the adopted budget and four-year summary. The county assessor’s voter-approved school-tax tables list the approved measures and collection years.
Lakewood
Lakewood voters approved its replacement operating levy and Capital Improvements and Safety Levy in 2024, with collections in 2025–28. The operating levy supports staff, special education, athletics, classroom technology and everyday operations.
The capital levy’s tentative improvement schedule includes middle-school exterior-door security, electrical upgrades and lighting work in 2026–27. A listed project is not necessarily completed. The district’s business-office page provides the October 2026 Citizen’s Guide to the 2026–27 budget.
Stanwood-Camano
Stanwood-Camano’s operating levy was renewed in 2024 and supports counselors, nurses, custodians, technology, supplies, arts, athletics and enrichment. Its separate capital levy was approved in February 2026, with property-tax collections beginning in spring 2027 for building, safety and technology improvements.
The district’s 2026–27 Community Guide explains the two levies and separates general-fund spending from capital projects. Use it alongside the budget documents and school-board records.
Lake Stevens
Lake Stevens voters approved separate operating and technology levy renewals in February 2026 for collection in 2027–30. The operating levy supports additional staff, student health and safety, athletics and activities, transportation and other day-to-day services. The technology levy supports devices, networks, cybersecurity and related support.
The 2026 levy page describes their uses. The 2026–27 Citizens’ Budget also explains the district’s separate operating, capital and debt-service accounts, including construction financed through the bond approved in 2025.
Granite Falls
Granite Falls voters approved both replacement levies in February 2026 for collection in 2027–30. The operating levy supports staff, smaller classes, activities, transportation, curriculum and everyday school costs. The separate technology and capital levy funds devices and security systems, heating and ventilation replacements, building repairs and athletic-field improvements.
Read the district’s levy explanations and levy questions and answers for the project categories and collection years. The county’s official February 2026 results confirm both approvals.
Darrington
Darrington’s replacement operating levy passed in August 2026 and authorizes $950,000 a year in 2027–30. This is the approved August measure, which replaced a larger proposal that failed in February. The district says levy support helps pay for after-school sports, paraeducators and other support staff, transportation, utilities and its annual community-center rental.
The district’s levy presentation and questions and answers also explain that recent facilities upgrades used grants restricted to those projects. The district says those grants cannot be used for ordinary operations. OSPI’s official August election workbook records the approved amount and collection years.
Reading the cost on a property-tax notice
A levy’s annual collection amount, its tax rate and your own bill are three different numbers. Collection years are calendar years, while the district’s school-year budget covers a different reporting period. Avoid treating an annual levy authorization as the same figure as one school fiscal year’s tax receipts.
For a rate quoted per $1,000 of taxable assessed value, the calculation is:
Taxable assessed value ÷ 1,000 × levy rate = annual tax for that levy.
For example, a hypothetical $500,000 property at a hypothetical $1.50 rate would owe $750 a year for that levy alone. This is an illustration, not an actual district rate or an estimate of a home’s full tax bill. A replacement levy does not guarantee an unchanged individual bill.
A rise in your home’s assessed value does not automatically give a district more money under a fixed-dollar levy. The rate spreads the authorized collection across the tax base; your share also depends on your property’s value relative to other properties. See the Snohomish County Assessor’s explanation and Island County’s tax calculation guide.
Use your tax statement and the county’s property records to check the district and applicable tax lines: Snohomish County property information or Island County parcel search. Ask the district for its current proposal’s annual dollar amounts, collection years and estimated rates, rather than relying on an old flyer.
Where student results fit
Student outcomes belong in a school-budget conversation, alongside a clear account of the services the money buys. Be sure the figures use the same year, assessment and calculation before comparing them.
OSPI revised its 2024–25 assessment data in September 2026, changing achievement percentages from the “students expected to test” count to its reported “students tested” count. Both counts include students who had previously passed. An older chart can therefore show different percentages from the revised data for the same school year. OSPI documents the change in its official assessment-data description.
The newer 2025–26 assessment data are available through OSPI. They cover a later school year than the spending table above.
For your own district, use the Washington State Report Card, select the district and year, and check participation as well as achievement. Attendance, graduation, access to courses and progress over time can add useful context. A statewide spending total and a test-score trend alone cannot establish what caused a change in learning or settle a funding dispute.
Questions worth taking to a school-board meeting
- Which year and fund are we discussing? Ask for the actual prior-year spending alongside the current adopted budget.
- What would the levy pay for at our schools? Look for named staffing, programs, maintenance or projects, with costs where available.
- Is this replacing an expiring levy? Compare the collection years and annual dollar amounts, as well as estimated tax rates.
- What happens if it passes or fails? Ask for the district’s specific service and staffing plans for each outcome.
- How will the district report progress? Look for spending reports, project updates and student measures that families can follow.
For the legal debate behind the funding headlines, our earlier report explains the school districts’ preparations for a new state-funding lawsuit. For a decision about your own district, start with its current levy documents, adopted budget and annual financial report.
