Volunteers for Issaquah Schools (VIS) is our local committee that promotes the passage of ISD bonds & levies. Thank you for continuously voting to support our schools and maintain high quality education as a priority in our community! 

WHY HAVE LEVIES? The state’s definition and funding of “Basic Education” does not fully cover the actual needs of a modern school. As just one example, “Basic Education” does not include “technology,” so school districts receive zero dollars from the state to put computers in the classroom, or to maintain Family Access or teacher/school/district websites. A levy or bond measure is the one funding mechanism provided by law that enables a local community to invest directly in the quality of its schools to overcome these shortfalls.

WHAT IS THE “LEVY CAP” AND WHY DOES IT EXIST?  By law, school districts are limited in the percentage of their budget that they can collect from local levies to supplement basic education, in order to prevent over-reliance on local dollars for school funding. Through a quirk in history, Issaquah’s levy limit is set at 28.97% of the state and federal dollars received by the district during the prior year, while Bellevue’s cap is 34.66%, which allows them to collect approximately $9 million more per year than Issaquah.

FAST FACT: The Issaquah School District has the highest bond rating (AAA) of any public school district in Washington State on Moody’s scale and has received exemplary audit reports for eleven consecutive years.