The perception that Mercer Island is a rich city and wealthy school district is not necessarily a correct one, finance directors told the City Council and School Board at a joint meeting on Oct. 13.
Both face funding challenges, but will have to wait for the results of the 2017 state Legislature session and November election before taking definitive steps to address them.
Out of 295 school districts and five tribal schools, Mercer Island ranks 294th in federal funding and 291st in state, said Mercer Island School District (MISD) CFO Dean Mack. It can make up the difference with other, local funds (in which it ranks 28th in the state) but still comes out 163rd overall.
“The challenge is that we live in a community with exceedingly high expectations,” Mack said, where parents expect their kids to be prepared for college and life at the 99th percentile, and the district is bumping up against its levy cap.
The city faces similar challenges with expectations. The only way to maintain current service levels, without cuts likely to Parks and Recreation or Youth and Family Services (YFS), is a levy lid lift, city Finance Director Chip Corder has said. The city is facing a $1.13 million projected deficit in 2018.
But the city has more flexibility in raising taxes. Its levy rate, per $1,000 assessed value, is currently about $1.17 (the second lowest in King County, behind Bellevue), and its cap is about $3.40.
The problem is with imbalances in the system. The city’s issue is that with such a small retail sales tax base, it is dependent on property taxes to balance its budget. Property taxes are capped at 1 percent annual growth, much lower than inflation and rising personnel costs.
The district uses local levy money to pay one-third of teacher salaries, which could be in jeopardy as the state Legislature attempts to address the McCleary decision and fully fund basic education statewide. A “levy swap” has been suggested as a potential solution.
The uncertainty about the state funding changes and whether or not they will be adjusted for cost of living gives the district “apoplexy as we move into the future,” Mack said.
The city and school district have the same boundaries, which provide “opportunities for synergy,” said Mayor Bruce Bassett. They work together on capital projects involving sports fields and Safe Routes to School, and on providing YFS mental health counselors in each of the Island’s schools.
Deputy Mayor Debbie Bertlin said she would be interested in searching for other areas in which the two overlap, to help the district “bridge the gap,” especially if it loses revenue from the McCleary resolution. Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano said that if the district does not receive more revenue in the next calendar year, staff layoffs are still likely.
If the City Council chooses an expenditure cutting option over a levy lid lift request, or if the request is not approved by voters, the city will have to cut staff as well. About 53 positions, or 26 percent of the city’s workforce, would have to be cut in 2018-2023 absent a new revenue source, Corder said.
In a subsequent but unrelated discussion, city and school elected officials heard about transportation improvements in Mercer Island. Since the new Northwood Elementary came online, bus routes have become more local and more efficient, MISD Transportation Director Dave Bynum said. The formation of school boundaries has reduced route times and mileage. Notably, the longest elementary big bus route time went from 50 minutes to 29. Enrollment has dropped at the other three elementary schools, “right sizing” those parking lots, Bynum added.
The bond projects at the middle and high schools have improved traffic flow at pick-up and drop-off times. The streets were widened, creating new drop-off zones and on-street parking after school hours.
Walking to school is also more common and safer since the district and city worked together on Safe Routes projects that created better crossing zones, especially at the intersection of Southeast 40th Street and 86th Avenue Southeast, where the city re-striped the road and created a dedicated left turn lane.
Some residents complained about longer wait times at that intersection since the project’s completion, said Assistant City Engineer Anne Tonella-Howe, but that was because some of the detection equipment wasn’t functioning correctly, and that issue was addressed last Wednesday.
An update on the cameras on school bus stop arms was also provided. Mercer Island Police Department Operations Commander Dave Jokinen said that 14 citations were issued in the first 22 days of school. Most were issued for oncoming traffic violations. Five buses have been equipped with the cameras.
