February 13 special election ballots mailed soon

Blaine and Birch Bay voters will be faced with three funding decisions on their ballots for the February 13 special election. Ballots are expected to be mailed and drop boxes will be open Wednesday, January 24, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.

The Blaine school district is asking voters to approve a replacement levy to help pay for district operations, which is especially needed in light of dwindling state funding and a $70 million bond to fund a host of capital improvement projects. Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) is asking for a levy renewal to fund staffing, keep costs for classes low and support youth sports.

Blaine school district replacement levy

Roughly 17 percent of Blaine school district’s operating budget comes from property tax levies paid for by residents of Blaine, Birch Bay and Point Roberts. While state funding takes care of swaths of expenses for the district, levies are needed to fill in gaps between what the state will pay for, and what the students of Blaine need, superintendent Christopher Granger said.

If passed, the levy rate will start in 2025 at $0.98 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and increase to $1 in 2026, $1.03 in 2027 and $1.04 in 2028. Over the course of the four-year levy, the tax would raise around $32 million.

Granger said the levy is crucial for the school district to retain staff and lessen the blow of a looming budget reduction.

“This is mission critical,” Granger said of the levy. “This is funding the gaps between the state model and what we actually need. I can’t emphasize enough to people how important this is for our students and staff and the community.”

The Blaine school board made it clear it doesn’t want “new taxes.” This current levy could, if property values rise two percent or less year over year, be a slight reduction in property tax payments, according to the district. The levy would raise roughly $7 million annually for the district, and raise to $8.5 million by 2028. For a home valued at $500,000, homeowners would pay roughly $490 annually.

“You can’t just make that money up,” Granger said. “It’s not going to come from state funding. There’s not some miracle grant that’s going to save us. This is our community saying they value what we do for students and staff, and recognizing that we need to fully fund education.”

Blaine school district capital bond

The school district is also presenting a capital bond request to voters that would make various construction improvements including updates to Blaine Middle School, with additional funding going to playground and exterior lighting improvements at Point Roberts Primary School, more space for athletics at Pipeline Fields, and to develop designs for a new school in Birch Bay.

The district is in the process of paying off another 25-year bond set to expire by 2035. With bond and levy payments rolling off the books, the additional $70 million bond would not increase that tax rate from its current level, according to the district.

The tax rate is projected at $0.76 per $1,000 in assessed property value, and would remain flat for the life of the bond. A house assessed at $500,000 in 2025 would pay $380.

Keeping tax rates at their previous levels was a priority for the committee tasked with developing the bond measure and prioritizing the district’s needs, Granger said.

“Primarily, the desire of the committee was no new taxes,” Granger said. “We wanted to determine the maximum dollar amount on a bond collection that would allow us to stay within that tax rate.”

Granger will hold a “Supper with the Superintendent” meeting to answer questions about  the levy and bond initiatives at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 30 at the Blaine Elementary School library.

BBBPRD2 levy renewal

Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) will ask voters to renew its $0.10 per $1,000 property tax levy.

The levy helps BBBPRD2 keep class prices low, pays for expert instructors for various sports and recreation opportunities, and helps fund the many events put on by the district throughout the year such as Pirate Daze and the Holiday Lights Obstacle Course.

The levy rate will remain the same as the last levy, at $0.10 per $1,000 in assessed property value. If passed, the property tax levy will cost roughly $50 annually, or $4.16 a month for a home assessed at $500,000.

The levy will be on the February special election after the district failed to submit a levy request before the filing deadline for the November 7 general election.

District director Heather Lindsay told The Northern Light in October that the missed deadline wouldn’t have any major impacts to the budget or the district’s ability to provide affordable recreation opportunities in 2024. However, the levy renewing in the special election is crucial for the budget outlook for 2025 and beyond, Lindsay said.

“We have enough funds to last definitely through the year [2024] without making any changes,” Lindsay said. “If we don’t have a levy pass in 2024, we will still be here in 2025, but changes will have to be made.”

BBBPRD2 will hold town hall events for the public to learn more about the levy renewal on Wednesday, January 24 at 10 a.m. at 7523 Kickerville Road and on Wednesday, January 31 at 5 p.m. at the Blaine Senior Center, 763 G Street.