The current property tax rate for Gladstone School District is $4.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

June 2025 to June 2027 Estimated District Property Tax Rates if measure passes: $4.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The average homeowner would pay $87.08 per month or $1,044.90 per year.

June 2027 to June 2047 Estimated District Property Tax Rate if measure passes: $3.99 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The average homeowner would pay $80.80 per month or $969.57 per year.

Total property taxes collected over the 20-year period would be $70 million.

Oregon's school finance system is complex, blending state, local, and federal revenues to support 197 school districts and 19 Education Service Districts (ESDs). The primary funding mechanism is the State School Fund (SSF), which allocates money based on a statutory equalization formula that combines state appropriations and local revenues, such as property taxes. This system is designed to ensure equity among districts with varying local wealth.

Revenue Sources

1. State Contributions: Oregon's legislature provides K-12 education funding through three primary sources:

○ General Fund (primarily income taxes),

○ Lottery receipts, and

○ Corporate Activities Tax

2. These contributions form the SSF, which totals $10.2 billion for the 2023-2025 biennium, representing about 66.5% of the funds distributed to schools.

3. Local Revenues: Local contributions, largely from property taxes, provide another significant portion of school funding. For 2023-2025, local revenues are estimated at $5.1 billion, making up about 33.5% of total funding. These local sources include:

○ Property taxes, the County School Fund, the Common School Fund, and revenues from state-managed timber trust lands.

4. Oregon also allows districts to ask voters for additional funding via a “local option” tax, but this is capped to prevent wide disparities in district funding.

5. Federal Funding and Grants-in-Aid: In addition to state and local sources, schools receive federal grants, particularly for specific programs like Title I (for high-poverty schools) and special education. For 2023-2025, federal and state grants-in-aid, including those from the Corporate Activities Tax, provide significant additional funding for specific purposes, such as nutrition programs and professional development.

School Funding Distribution

The SSF and local revenues are distributed using an equalization formula that adjusts for each district’s specific needs, ensuring equity across Oregon. Factors like teacher experience, transportation costs, and a district’s student population (measured by a weighted student count) influence the allocation of funds. For example, students in poverty or English language learners receive additional weighting in the formula to reflect their greater educational needs. The goal is to ensure that all students, regardless of their district’s wealth, have access to comparable educational resources.

The assessed value of a home is generally used for tax purposes including calculating the bond rate. Oregon began using assessed value for tax purposes through the passage of Measure 50 in 1997. Though homeowners usually want their property values to grow over time, in this case, it’s better when the home’s value is lower. That’s because the higher the assessed value, the higher the property taxes.

Market value is used by lenders, buyers and sellers to estimate the appropriate selling price given current market conditions. It’s essentially the value that assessors attempt to come up with before applying the assessment rate. An easy way to think about market value is this: What would a prospective buyer be willing to spend on a particular home and/or what would the seller be willing to accept if it were sold today?

For more information about assessed value vs real market value, go to this informational video from the OACTC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ_BkTQZmCg&t=78s

For more information about how to understand your tax bill, go to the Clackamas County Assessor’s website at http://ascendweb.clackamas.us/.

To find out the assessed value of a property, go to the Clackamas County Assessor’s website at http://ascendweb.clackamas.us/.

For more information about tax statements, go to https://www.clackamas.us/at/taxbill.

It is possible that the tax rate could change. Housing construction, area growth/decline, and home values could all contribute to changing the rate per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The property tax rate that would be used to pay off the bonds is currently calculated using estimates of assessed value and estimates of actual interest rates when the bonds are sold. Based on current estimates, the tax rate would be $4.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value from June 2025 through June 2027 and $3.99 per $1,000 of assessed property value from June 2027 through June 2047.

The Clackamas County Assessor would calculate the actual property tax rate sufficient to make the first year's payment on the bonds if the bond measure passes in May. The first year and every subsequent year after a possible bond measure passage, the assessor would make that actual rate calculation based on the actual assessed property values of Gladstone School District and the bond payments that are due in that particular year. If the current estimates for assessed value and bond payments vary each year from the actual numbers, then the rate could stay the same, decrease or increase.

Once the debt is paid off, the taxpayers would no longer be taxed for school projects in Gladstone. The last year of the proposed property tax is projected to be 2047. The school district can only collect the amount they asked for in the bond measure.

Information about the Gladstone School District’s finances can be found on the district website at https://www.gladstone.k12.or.us/page/business-office

To see the most recently adopted budget, use this link.