How much is this going to cost me?
The Citizens Facility Advisory Committee (CFAC) - a committee made up of volunteer citizens in the Sky Valley - studied the growth trends and building needs of the district for the better part of 2023. They developed a plan to build a new Sultan Elementary School, expand & modernize Gold Bar Elementary, remodel the existing Sultan Elementary School & reconfigure the student grade distribution to better suit the current and future needs of the community, which was approved by the District's Board of Directors.
This plan will cost roughly $94 million, not including roughly $14 million dollars in matching money from the State of Washington. This leaves us with a proposal for a bond worth $79.7 million that needs to be raised.
School construction financing is a complex and confusing topic. Keep scrolling to find more information about how it works and how much it will cost you to give our kids the space that they need.
So, what is a bond?
Bonds are a lot like loans that a community agrees to take. Watch the short video to learn more about how bonds work!
How do we pay off the bond?
The bond will be paid back by the community, via property taxes. Since the bond is a fixed amount, the district can only collect the exact amount approved by voters. This means that as more people move into the area, the burden is spread out more, which would lower each property owners tax rate.
Watch the short video to learn more about how the bond tax rates work!
What is an "Assessed Value" and who determines it?
Assessed values are determined by the local tax authority - in our case, it's the Snohomish County Assessor's office.
Watch this short video to learn more about Assessed Values.
Please note - this video resource is for a city in Alberta, Canada. While the concepts are the same, the dates and other specifics are unique to that particular locality.
So, what is my property's assessed value?
Your property's assessed value can be found using the Snohomish County Assessor's website:
https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5167/Assessor
Simply enter your parcel number (if known) or house number and street name. This should return the entire tax history of your property, along with the assessed value.
What is the projected tax rate?
Based on the current properties assessed in the school district, the tax rate increase is estimated to be $1.00, per $1,000 of assessed value in 2025.
REMEMBER: These tax rates are based on an estimate of the total assessed value of ALL of the properties in the district. As assessed values change and new properties start to pay taxes, these rates may change.
REMEMBER: Although your individual tax rate may change, the TOTAL amount of the bond is fixed. The district will not collect more than the approved $79,995,000 that the voters approve
So, what is my actual dollar cost?
Now that you have your assessed value and estimated tax rate, you can calculate the actual dollar cost of the bond for your household!
See the sample calculation to see how you can find your own dollar cost.
