The Edmonds School Board Tuesday night voted to place a supplemental levy on the Aug. 17 primary election ballot that would raise about $7 million yearly for the district’s general fund through 2014. If approved, the levy would add approximately $107 annually — or about $9 per month —  to the property tax bill of a house valued at $350,000.

During the recent legislative session, Washington state legislators changed the levy law through 2017 as a way to allow communities to legally supplement their local community schools by voting for a supplemental levy.

“As you know, the State of Washington has been making major reductions in funding for K-12 public education as well as other state-funded services,” Edmonds Superintendent Nick Brossoit wrote in an email sent to the district’s Key Communicator list Wednesday. “This has impacted all school districts and resulted in a number of program, service, and staffing level reductions.

“We continue to maximize the use of precious and limited resources. We appreciate great community support, and we understand that there are many who are dealing with fiscal challenges in their work or personal lives,” Brossoit added. “It is also important to note that even if this supplemental levy is approved by voters, nobody knows for sure about the future of federal and state funding for the next few years. The state budget and our district budget for next year are supported by one-time federal funds. Thus, while we would like to be able to restore certain areas recently reduced or impacted, we may need to use these funds just to operate our schools or address further state reductions. We won’t know the status of the following year until the spring a year from now, after the next legislative session is completed.”

For more information on the district budget, visit www.edmonds.wednet.edu/budget.

The Edmonds School District will hold a community information meeting about the supplemental levy at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 26 in the Edmonds-Woodway High School Library.