Dear Friend,
Check your mailbox! Ballots are arriving soon with the opportunity to support your local schools and fire districts in the April 23 special election.
Voting YES on these levies, propositions, and initiatives will make a huge difference in your community—especially when we need a simple majority of votes to secure services like school nurses, classroom technology, and fire safety equipment and personnel. On some ballots this year, propositions that failed to get a majority vote in the last special election are being put on the ballot again—for our students, this may be the last chance to ensure that they get the resources they need to thrive in safe school buildings fully equipped for a modern education.
If you haven't already voted, please find your ballot and mail it in today, or put it in a drop box by 8pm on Tuesday, April 23! Then tell your friends and family to do the same. Forward this guide to your friends, family, and co-workers — they can find their own locally customized version at ProgressiveVotersGuide.com/Washington
When we all use our voices, we can bring incredible progress to our communities. Cast your vote today!
Thanks for all you do (especially voting!),
Collin and the entire team at Fuse {% if donations.most_recent_date >= '2024-03-01' or user.recurring_orders.active %}
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Yelm School District
Yelm School District Proposition #1
Replacing an Expiring Educational Programs and Operations Levy
YES
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Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below school district races on your ballot.
Vote YES to continue funding for our schools' basic needs
Ensuring that all Yelm schools have access to the resources they need is necessary for our students' success. To that end, replacing the Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy for Yelm Community Schools in the form of Proposition 1 is essential.
The levy, which accounts for 13 percent of the district's budget, is a cornerstone of funding, enabling Yelm Community Schools to bridge the gap left by insufficient state and federal funding. The district cannot maintain services at their current level without the EP&O levy, which covers sufficient staffing, library programs, special education, facility maintenance, nurses, electives, arts, language programs, textbooks, and more.
For a homeowner with a property valued at $450,000, the levy rate of $2.25 per $1000 of assessed property value would cost about $1,000 annually. In 2016 and 2020, the levy rate was $3.94 and $2.50. This year's reduced rate reflects the school board's careful and considered approach to our schools’ needs.
Without a levy renewal, our schools face an education-altering budget cut, affecting over 5,600 students across nine schools. Vote Yes on Proposition 1 to help our schools secure a brighter, more equitable future for every student in the Yelm Community School District.