Optimism seems to be the key word coming from those supporting three Northshore School District funding issues all on the ballot of the all-mail election currently under way.

“The presentations we have done… have all been very well received,” said Northshore Superintendent Larry Francois.

Francois added school officials have appeared before basically any community group that would listen, with those groups ranging from PTAs to local Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.

A former Northshore Board of Directors member co-chairing the citizens committee working to pass the school questions, B-Z Davis said one of the committee’s goals is to reach 19,000 registered voters prior to the last day of the election. They have touched base, at least leaving messages, with roughly 14,000. Davis added voters are “trending pretty well” in favor of the issues.

“The trick is making sure votes are getting mailed,” she continued.

In order for their ballots to count, district voters must have those ballots postmarked by Feb. 9.

While making the rounds in support of the funding issue, Francois said he has emphasized that the two levies on the ballot are both replacement issues extending the lives of existing levies set to expire at the end of this year.

Francois compared voter passage of the levies to renewal of a magazine subscription that is about to run out.

By far the larger of the two renewals, what’s been dubbed by the district as an eduction operations support levy would raise $169 million over the next four years. Francois, Davis and other district leaders repeatedly have emphasized that the levy represents 20 percent of the Northshore district’s total funding.

In the past, Francois and others have said the levy supports some day-to-day district operations, as well as some bigger ticket items such as smaller class sizes, special-education services and curriculum updates.

The smaller renewal levy is advertised as supporting the use of technology in the classroom and would bring in $24 million over four years. Davis and others have said the levy pays for computers and similar items used in classrooms by both students and teachers.

Finally, voters are being asked to approve a $149 million bond sale funding capital improvements and building maintenance projects throughout the district. Maintenance work would include replacing roofs and carpeting at several buildings, among other steps.

More large-scale projects would include completing renovations to Kenmore junior and Woodinville high schools. Kenmore Junior High Principal Tim Gordon talked about hopefully replacing buildings dating back to the 1960s, including an outdated cafeteria.

“It’s taken care of as well as you can imagine, but it’s just old,” Gordon said of that cafeteria.

Gordon also lamented that despite a strong arts program, his school lacks any sort of stage or auditorium. Both are included in renovation plans.

According to Davis, bond passage requires the support of a supermajority of 60 percent of those casting ballots. Both levies will need “yes” votes from a simple majority of voters.

According to information supplied by the district, if all three measures pass, they would mean a school tax rate of $4.07 per $1,000 in property valuation each year for the four-year life of the issues. Again, according to district officials, that amount is level with the estimated tax rate for 2010 and is 27 cents less than the 2005 school tax rate.

There appears to be no organized opposition to the three issues and Francois reiterated he has not heard many critical comments.

If the issues should fail, the Northshore Board of Directors would have the final say on what happened next. Still, arguing the district simply cannot afford to lose 20 percent of its budget, Francois maintains the district would have no choice but to refloat the operating levy.

In terms of overall school funding issues, Francois said there still is plenty of potential for further cuts in state dollars. According to Francois, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed budget would reduce Northshore revenues by over $5 million, eliminating, among other programs, funding meant to control class sizes.

Neither the state Senate nor the House have produced their spending plans as yet. Francois said he doesn’t expect those proposals to appear until after the next Washington revenue projections are released later this month. In the meantime, Francois said local officials and school leaders from around the state have been lobbying Olympia to enact new legislation meant to protect districts from reductions in local levy collections.

Francois said that, basically, local levy caps are calibrated to the amounts of state and federal funding received by a district. If non-local dollars decrease, so do the amounts districts can collect from local revenue streams. Francois said if the formula isn’t changed, Northshore’s ability to bring in local dollars could take what he described as a “significant hit” this year.