Educational Programs and Operations Levy
About Our EP&O Levy
THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY! THIS FEBRUARY 13th, 2024 REPLACEMENT LEVY PASSED AT 58%
The residents of the Soap Lake School District will have an opportunity to renew their Educational Programs & Operations Levy on February 13th, 2024. This replacement levy will expire at the end of 2028.
The school board recently approved keeping the EPO rate at $2.29 per 1000 of assessed value. This is the same rate as the EPO levy expiring in 2024.
This amount equates to the following per year:
2025: $736,108
2026: $776,152
2027: $818,374
2028: $862,894
Does everyone have to pay for the levy?
Senior citizens age 61 or older may be eligible for an exemption on all or part of tax levies. For more information on discounts and exemptions, please call your county assessor (Grant County Assessor: 509-754-2013) Grant County Website Website click here
What the levy pays for:
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Bridges the gap between state and federal funding and the actual cost to run a school district
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Levy dollars go towards staff costs
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Classroom supplies and textbooks
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Extracurricular activities and athletics
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Music Program
- Art Program
Levy Terms & Definitions
Education Programs & Operations (EPO) Levy:
A special tax on property voted by the people to pay for day-to-day educational programs and operations in a school district.
Tax Rate:
The amount of tax collected per unit of assessed property value; is usually stated in dollars collected per one thousand dollars of assessed value. Example: $2.29/$1,000 of assessed value.
Assessed Value:
The total value of real property (land and buildings) as determined by the county assessor.
Appraised (Market) Value:
The total value of real property (land and buildings) as determined by a professional appraiser on a specific date. An appraisal is ordered for the specific purpose of determining the current market value, or sales price, during the mortgage origination process.
Example:
After purchasing a home, you may have numerous dollar amounts floating around your memory, leaving you wondering what the actual value of your property really is. Well, that depends on who is asking. Let’s look at an example and why there are so many different amounts attached to the same piece of property.
Jack and Jill Taxpayer bought a home in 2009. The asking price was $240,000. Jack and Jill put in an offer and bought the home for $235,000 (purchase price). When Jack and Jill’s lender had the home appraised, the market value was determined to be $215,000 (appraised value). Then comes tax time, and Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer see that their property has an assessed value of $200,000. What number should Jack and Jill use when determining how the proposed M&O Levy affects them?
Taxes are based on assessed property values determined by the county assessor. So in the example above, Jack and Jill can figure out how much the proposed M&O Levy is going to cost them according to their property’s assessed value of $200,0000.
A special tax on property voted by the people to pay for day-to-day educational programs and operations in a school district.
Tax Rate:
The amount of tax collected per unit of assessed property value; is usually stated in dollars collected per one thousand dollars of assessed value. Example: $2.29/$1,000 of assessed value.
Assessed Value:
The total value of real property (land and buildings) as determined by the county assessor.
Appraised (Market) Value:
The total value of real property (land and buildings) as determined by a professional appraiser on a specific date. An appraisal is ordered for the specific purpose of determining the current market value, or sales price, during the mortgage origination process.
Example:
After purchasing a home, you may have numerous dollar amounts floating around your memory, leaving you wondering what the actual value of your property really is. Well, that depends on who is asking. Let’s look at an example and why there are so many different amounts attached to the same piece of property.
Jack and Jill Taxpayer bought a home in 2009. The asking price was $240,000. Jack and Jill put in an offer and bought the home for $235,000 (purchase price). When Jack and Jill’s lender had the home appraised, the market value was determined to be $215,000 (appraised value). Then comes tax time, and Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer see that their property has an assessed value of $200,000. What number should Jack and Jill use when determining how the proposed M&O Levy affects them?
Taxes are based on assessed property values determined by the county assessor. So in the example above, Jack and Jill can figure out how much the proposed M&O Levy is going to cost them according to their property’s assessed value of $200,0000.