School Levy Fails -Vote again in August
Darrington Schools Funding Crisis
At School Board meeting Feb 24, 2026, the board made a unanimous decision to resubmit the levy for a vote on April 28, at the exact same dollar amount as in previous years, but then had to switch to August. Since the Feb 10 levy vote failed likely due to the fact that local taxpayers are feeling overburdened, the board decided that even though important discipline issues would have been addressed by the proposed Feb 10 levy increase that this proposal was more than voters could take.
What was proposed and rejected in the Feb 10 vote?
Detail of dollar amount per assessed value of home.
2025-2026 school year
2026-2027 school year
2027-2028 school year
Vote again in April or August?
The board first decided to hold the levy again in April, at the same exact level as has been funded in past years. No new staff to address discipline issues, no additional counselors, no full time groundskeeper or IT staff, no band program. The community decided that all this costs just too much. However, since voters in the Darrington School District were the only ones in Snohomish County to reject their local school levy, the cost of running another levy right away in April would have to be paid by the district wanting the second vote. It would have cost over $50,000 from the district budget to have another vote in April, so the board had to decide at an special meeting on Feb 26 not to hold another vote in April. In August other items will be on the ballot, and the cost of holding the election will be shared.
What's the problem with waiting till August to vote again?
There is much uncertainly involved in waiting until August to know if basic school functions will be funded, just before school is to start.
Sports programs will have to be taken out of the budget, and then put back in if voters approve.
Staff don't know if they will have jobs. Parents don't know what programs will be available. Planning gets very complicated.
More to come on this..
What is being proposed and what is at stake?
Can voters agree to fund this small rural district or not?
More on this in another article...
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