Tuesday is deadline to return special-election ballot

Ballots in the all-mail special election must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, election day; mid-week, county election officials reported ballots were running below expected numbers countywide. A maintenance and operations replacement levy, a replacement technology levy and a bond measure are on the ballot in the Renton School District.

Ballots in the all-mail special election must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, election day;  mid-week, county election officials reported ballots were running below expected numbers countywide.

A maintenance and operations replacement levy, a replacement technology levy and a bond measure are on the ballot in the Renton School District.

The estimated tax rate increase for all three measures is 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property tax value.

This means that the average home valued at $252,000 will pay $189 per year.

The measures on the ballot are the Education Maintenance and Operations Replacement Levy, a technology levy and the Building for a Lifetime of Learning School Building Bond.

For the M & O levy, the current levy rate that expires December 2012 is $2.08 per $1,000 of assessed and the replacement rate will be $2.66. The technology levy goes from 37 cents to 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation and the bond rate will stay at $2.18 in 2013 and 2014 but increase by 3 cents in 2015.

The total tax rate if all three measures pass will go from $4.64 to $5.39, according to the Renton School District.

The collection of funding from all three measures would begin in 2013 and collection of funds from the bond measure would not begin until 2015.

The district expects that tax rates will decrease over time as old debt is retired and assessed value in the area begins to increase.