Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Renewal Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) Levy

This four-year levy represents about 16.6% of the district’s annual budget. It helps fund necessary student services, opportunities and safety beyond state and federal funding. The Levy Advisory Committee recommends that the district consider expanding student well-being supports and broadening academic opportunities. It would fund or help fund:

• Staff and programs that support student well-being, including counseling, nursing, behavior supports, security, VOICE Mentors, equity programs, athletics, activities and programs that directly impact student safety, health and belonging.
• Academic opportunities such as the 7-period high school day, individual learning supports, dual language programs including Spanish and Mandarin, Gibson Ek and Special Education. These programs help fill state funding gaps and support our students in reaching graduation and being ready for life after high school.
• Day-to-day Operations to support organizational effectiveness: Local levy dollars fund staffing and operations (teachers, substitutes, custodians, maintenance and transportation positions) that help sustain daily operations, manageable class sizes and more.

Renewal Capital Levy (Technology and Critical Repairs)

This four-year levy delivers up-to-date classroom technology, applications, device support, data security and network infrastructure. It also addresses urgent safety needs and prioritizes the highest-impact repairs to buildings and systems.

The Technology funds would:

• Continue the district-managed 1:1 laptop program to ensure every student has the same access to technology
• Expand investments in cybersecurity
• Provide for new initiatives such as a crisis alert safety program; device upgrades and modernization; learning about the responsible use of AI for education; secure data warehouse to improve real-time analysis and strategy

The Critical Repairs dollars would fund:

• Repairs to roofing, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems, Safety and Security and Food Service equipment updates
• Sports field updates and the installation of secure entrance vestibules at our three comprehensive high schools
   

Transportation (School Bus) Levy

This one-year levy advances safe, sustainable and reliable transportation while managing maintenance costs through fleet modernization. The proposal includes expanding the district’s pilot program for electric buses, and adding charging infrastructure. It would:

• Continue to purchase and phase in new diesel buses to replace aging buses, while also expanding the district’s electric bus pilot program. The pilot is starting this fall, with three electric buses purchased using grant funding.

EP&O Levy

Learn more about the EP&O Levy

Capital (Technology and Critical Repairs) Levy

Learn more about the Capital Levy

Transportation (School Bus) Levy

Learn more about the School Bus Levy

The 2026 renewal levy measures are a continuation of the services, staffing and programs that voters approved in 2022, with no money for new construction.

What is a Levy?

• A levy measure is a local property tax that funds day-to-day student learning and operations.
• In Issaquah, levy measures are used to support student learning through enrichment, staffing, safety, transportation, technology, and critical repairs.
• Levy funds help bridge the gap between state/federal funding and real student needs.
• A levy measure is typically renewed every 4 years (with voter approval). One exception in Issaquah is our Transportation (School Bus) Levy, which is only a one-year levy.
• Our levy measure proposals are designed to keep local school taxes stable while sustaining high-quality programs.
• To validate a school levy, a simple majority is required (50% plus one vote).

What is a Bond?

• Bond measures are used to fund large construction projects.
• Washington state law requires a 60% supermajority to pass a bond measure.

Yes. Our district employs more classroom teachers than the state prototypical model. At this time, we have 145 teachers more than the state funds. These dollars come from the Educational Programs and Operations Levy.

Our average class size for the 2023-24 school year (the most recent data the state reports) was 21.3 students. To read more about class sizes, visit the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction Report card for Issaquah School District.

Yes. The state and federal government do not fund all the legally required special education services and programs. Issaquah School District has been continually underfunded in Special Education by about $9.5 million per year. That amount is growing.

We cover this difference with local levy funds.

Yes. The state funds teachers and staff positions according to its "prototypical model," but in nearly every category, the district funds additional staff positions to help class sizes remain smaller, provide greater academic, mental and health support for students, and to keep our buildings clean, secure and safe.

Here are some examples:

• 271 teachers and paraprofessionals are levy funded, lowering class sizes and providing in-class support.
• 71 custodial and maintenance professionals above state funding, working to keep our schools clean, warm, safe and dry.
• 40 counselors, social workers, nurses and health room specialists, psychologists and security officers are levy-funded.
• 23 other student support positions are levy-funded.

Total for these examples: 405 levy-funded positions to support our students, families and community

In 2022, district voters approved three levy measures.

The Transportation (School Bus) Levy was a one-year measure that has already expired.

The Educational Programs and Operations Levy (EP&O) and the Capital (Technology and Critical Repairs) Levy will each expire at the end of 2026 unless they are renewed by voters.

No. The school district proposed two separate bond measure packages to voters in the 2024-25 school year. These levy measures are not connected to the bond measures or new construction.

The levy proposals are designed to maintain funding provided by three levy measures approved by voters in 2022, each of which will have expired by the end of 2026.

No. The Capital Levy does not have any funding for constructing new schools. The Capital Levy has funds for critical repairs and for technology. The critical repairs project list includes a prioritized list of projects that need to be completed in the next four years to maintain our existing facilities and to keep students and staff warm, safe, and dry.

Learn more about the Capital Levy including a list of all projects by type or by site on the Capital Levy page.

We would like to invite our whole community to attend any of three upcoming Finance Information Sessions. Please save the date to attend one or more of the events.
 

Finance & Levy
Information Sessions

Virtual SessioN

November 18, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Hosted on Zoom

South End Session

December 3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Liberty High School Library

PLATEAU SESSION

December 10, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Pine Lake Middle School Library

REQUEST A LEVY FACTS PRESENTATION

Yes! Please invite us, and we would be happy to share factual information about the levy proposals. Email us to arrange a date and time.

The renewal levy measure proposals are structured intentionally to keep the current tax rate stable.

What Is the Projected Combined Tax Rate?

The total combined local school tax rate is projected to remain unchanged from the current 2026 rate of $3.09 per $1,000 of assessed value. This renewal maintains the same level of local support for schools, while keeping taxes stable. 

For the previous 20 years, the average total combined tax rate for the Issaquah School District has been $3.86.

For further details, visit our Tax Information page.

Each of the three proposed levy renewals will collect a set amount of funding:

• The renewal Educational Programs and Operations Levy would collect $75.2 million in 2027, $78.2 million in 2028, $81 million in 2029, and $82.8 million in 2030.
• The renewal Capital Levy includes funding for Technology and Critical Repairs: $39.2 million in 2027, $37.8 million in 2028, $39.3 million in 2029, and $41.2 million in 2030.
• One-year Transportation (School Bus) Levy: $2 million in 2027.

If approved by voters, the district will collect these total amounts regardless of any adjustments to changes to your individual home's assessed value.

No. We are only asking for the amount of money that is needed to maintain existing levy-funded programs and positions, with innovation and expansion in selected priority areas recommended by the 60-person volunteer Levy Advisory Committee.

In the Critical Repairs portion of the Capital Levy, we are asking voters to consider renewing the levy so that we can fund a prioritized list of projects to complete in the next four years, which will help keep our students and staff warm, safe and dry. 

Public Budget Process

• The district's entire budget process is presented publicly in great detail during School Board meetings throughout the year, and culminates in the presentation of the draft budget, a public hearing and School Board approval of the budget. Learn more about the 2025-26 budget in our Budget Guide.
   
• This fall and winter, staff and administrators will work on the 2026-27 budget, and will share updates regularly at School Board meetings. Members of the public are welcome to share comments about the budget at any time during the process, in addition to during the budget hearing.
   

Audits

• The Washington State Auditor's Office conducts annual audits of the district's financial and accounting procedures. The resulting audit reports provide a summary of the findings.
• Read more about audits on our website.
   

Capital Projects

• The superintendent called for the creation of the district's first Capital Projects Oversight Committee, which is made up of parent/guardian, staff, student and community member volunteers who review spending and information related to Capital Projects. Learn more about the committee on our website.
   
• Additionally, the School Board receives regular reports with updates about each Capital Project in the district; information about those reports are posted to our website and the meetings are streamed live and recorded for viewing at any time.

We use a conservative approach and work with a third-party demographer.

Annual enrollment projections begin after the official October 1 enrollment count, to ensure alignment with verified data. Each school and grade are analyzed based on historical patterns, housing developments and birth rates. We compare district projections with the demographer to validate variances and ensure external benchmarking accuracy.