Your ballot lists a dollar figure for each of the three years: $48.9 million in 2028, $50.55 million in 2029, and $52.4 million in 2030. Here's how those relate to the $2.50 rate.

Washington school levies are approved as a dollar amount, then spread across all the taxable property in the district to produce a rate. Central Valley is growing and property values are rising, so the same $2.50 per $1,000 brings in more total dollars each year. The three figures on the ballot are what $2.50 is expected to produce in each of those years.

The district needs those dollars to keep pace with two things. State local effort assistance to Central Valley is projected to fall from $5.7 million this year to about $1.3 million by 2028–29. And utilities, insurance, and fuel are up 23% since 2025. Without this levy the district's reserve is projected to drop from 9% of annual spending to 3%, below its own 10% floor.

State law caps this levy at $2.50 per $1,000, so the rate cannot rise above that even if property values climb faster than projected.