Districts hope to highlight levies.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

Eugene school supporters have a message for voters: After you choose a presidential candidate, keep reading, all the way to the very bottom of your ballot, and mark "yes" for Measure 20-90.

District voters have been consistently generous to their schools over the years, but organizers pushing for renewal of a school levy are nonetheless worried that the measure could be overlooked or underappreciated in such a high-profile, hot-button presidential election.

"There is so much happening at both the national and state level around candidates and measures," Eugene School Board chairwoman Beth Gerot said. "I think folks just aren't as familiar with this as they really should be."

The new levy would simply pick up where the current, five-year levy leaves off in 2005, with the same tax rate and life span. The rate is $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, although - as is the case with the current levy - average rates for most properties would be substantially less: 73 cents for residential properties, $1.16 for commercial properties and $1 for industrial properties. That's because the rate depends on the difference between a property's real market value and its assessed value. The district provides a detailed worksheet online at www.4j.lane.edu/pa/4JLOinfo.pdf on how to figure out how much each property would be assessed.

The estimated $31.3 million raised over the five-year span would help the district maintain current staffing levels and programs. The revenue is enough to pay the equivalent of 70 teachers' salaries, although that does not mean that's what would be cut should the measure fail. If that happens, though, the district - which has already built the levy revenue into its financial assumptions - would have to trim next year's budget by about $6 million.

In May of 2000, the levy passed with nearly 64 percent approval. Just as before, there's no formal opposition this time around.

"I think it's important for people to know it is a renewal, it's not a new tax," she said. "They're not going to be paying any more than they are now."

Churchill High School senior Zach Saltz said he and other students involved in the Associated Student Body Leadership plan to campaign for the measure in the next couple of weeks. He plugged it during a recent voter registration drive, and he is frustrated that - at just 17 - he won't be able to lend his "yes" vote.

But he acknowledged that he's atypical. Most students, he said, aren't aware of the critical role the levy plays in the district's finances.

"I think students need to realize what the effect is, and they need to be educated about how the school district receives money," said Saltz, who wants to be teacher.

Off to the south, Crow-Applegate-Lorane, a district of just over 300 students, is also seeking renewal of its five-year levy. The rate is the same as Eugene's: $1.50 per $1,000, with the average rate expected to be about 46 cents per $1,000.

In 2000, Crow-Applegate's measure passed with about 54 percent approval, but barely squeaked by on the so-called "double-majority" rule, which requires greater than a 50-percent turnout. That rule doesn't apply in the general election, much to the relief of Crow-Applegate board member Dean Livelybrooks, who spent election day five years ago standing in the rain waving a sign on Crow Road and Territorial Highway.

But Livelybrooks is anything but complacent. He's also concerned about the measure's visibility in a busy election season, as well as anti-tax sentiment.

"There's the 25 or 30 percent of voters who have a direct connection to the schools, and then there's the majority who really don't have a connection to the schools," he said.

Without the estimated $585,300 in estimated revenue over the next five years, the district would have to dramatically scale back some of the progress it's making to restore deep, state-budget-driven cuts in recent years.

"We have German for the first time in a long time," he said, citing an example at the high school. "This rebuild is riding on the fact that we have a local option levy and savings via the PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) reform. I'm just concerned that this not passing would basically hinder this rebuild process. I really feel like things are looking up in our district."

Eugene and Crow-Applegate-Lorane are among the 20 school districts in Oregon that have successfully passed a local option levy, and two of 11 that will seek voter approval this November for either a renewal or a first-time levy.

Measure number: 20-90

What it would do: Renew an expiring five-year local option levy to generate operating revenue for the Eugene School District. The rate would continue at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, although - as is the case with the current levy - average rates for most properties would be substantially less: 73 cents for residential properties, $1.16 for commercial properties and $1 for industrial properties. The estimated $31.3 million raised over the five-year span would help the district maintain current staffing levels and programs.

Argument in favor: With an inadequate level of state funding for schools, the levy is one of the few ways district voters can help preserve staffing levels and programs. The money from the levy pays for the equivalent of 70 full-time teaching positions. Good schools raise the quality of life, attract businesses and produce graduates who are well-prepared to join the work force.

Contact: Yes for Schools, Mary Walston, 912-5260

Argument against: No formal opposition

Measure number: 20-99

What it would do: Renew an expiring five-year local option levy to generate operating revenue for the Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District. The rate would continue at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, although - as is the case with the current levy - average rates for most properties would be substantially less, about 46 cents per $1,000. The estimated $585,300 raised over the five-year span would help the district maintain current staffing levels and programs.

Argument in favor: With an inadequate level of state funding for schools, the levy is one of the few ways district voters can help preserve staffing levels and programs. The district has slowly been restoring some of the cuts made over the past few years, particularly at Crow High School, and that effort would be thrown off track without the levy.

Contact: Dean Livelybrooks, 935-9502

- The Register-Guard