Seattle - As Seattle voters go to the polls Tuesday to consider renewing two school funding measures, research from the Washington Institute Foundation finds the School District is not accurately describing how the levies would work. The Washington Institute is an independent public policy think tank based in Seattle.

The School District solemnly assures voters that the new levy is "not a new tax" and is "no tax rate increase." These statements are, at best, misleading. The whole truth is that both levies on Tuesday's ballot represent significant tax increases.

The Educational Programs and Operations Levy will increase by 21.5%, from $278 million collected over three years to $338 million. 

The Building Excellence Capital II Levy will increase by more than 20%, from $330 million collected over six years to $398 million.

No matter how you look at it, these are tax increases.

In addition, the ballot titles misleadingly list the rate of tax per $1,000 of assessed value for each year of the proposed levies. This is deceptive to voters in three ways.

First, the tax rate is not part of the law. Only the total amount to be raised each year is legally binding. If the rate has to be increased to get this amount, the law says it will be.

Second, the tax rates listed on the ballot are estimates. Voters are not told that the levy text only calls for approximate rates, and that the rates shown on the ballot will probably change.

Third, the rate by itself does not determine how much tax each homeowner pays. Property tax is set by multiplying the rate times the home's valuation. With valuations soaring the amount of actual tax required by these levies will go up until the statutory amount required is met, even if the rate stays the same or goes down.

The School District only creates public confusion when it tells property owners their tax rate will go down (maybe), when the total amount they must pay will actually go up.

To get these higher levies on the ballot the District is declaring a phony emergency. The School District claims to have "found and declared that an emergency exists," and has asked the supervisor of elections to "find the existence of such an emergency and to call...a special election." Our schools may need more money, but there is no pressing "emergency." Declaring an emergency when there isn't one further erodes people's confidence in their elected leaders.

Schools are our top priority. We should provide enough funding to make sure they are high quality and academically challenging, because our children need and deserve the very best we can give them. But voters have a right to know the full story on school levies, especially from those who are entrusted with teaching the values of respect and fair dealing to our children.

Public education in Seattle may very well need a 20% tax increase, but the School District should be more honest about asking for it.