12th District State Senator Brad Hawkins is hoping for a reply from Lake Chelan School Superintendent Brad Wilson and the Lake Chelan School Board to a letter he sent them asking for feedback on a proposal in the state legislature that would lower the voter approval threshold for school construction bonds. Levies for maintenance and operation need only majority approval to pass, but school bond issues require a 60 percent supermajority for passage. Hawkins says lawmakers are considering options:
Hawkins says there are pros and cons to the issue:
The Senator says legislators play a small role, as the state takes less than one quarter of property taxes; the rest are locally voted or locally determined by city councils, port districts, counties, fire districts and voters.