Operating and repairing schools and maintaining the quality of parks will be the issues in Tuesday’s levy election.

On Feb. 3 South Whidbey voters will be asked if they want to renew a two-year maintenance and operation for South Whidbey schools and a second, capital projects levy to fix roofs and floors.

The third levy on Tuesday’s ballot will ask voters to approve a four-year maintenance and operation levy for South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District, a levy that has been at the same rate — 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value — for the past six years.

Although the district’s commissioners have doubled the number and size of of its play fields during the last four years, the district isn’t requesting more money this year. The district includes 120 acres of sports fields and wooded acreage for walking and running trails.

For schools, the operating levy, if approved, would replace a two-year levy expiring at the end of this year. A second levy on the ballot would raise $250,000 a year for two years for facilities repairs. Both levies are for years 2005-06. The operations levy will be billed to South Whidbey property owners at a rate of $1.35 per $1,000 of property value in 2005, then drop to $1.34 in 2006. These rates are lower than the one currently charged — $1.41 per $1,000.

Helen Price-Johnson, president of the South Whidbey Board of Education, said the maintenance and operation levy is “crucial to providing ongoing support to our schools and the capital projects levy will help the district take care of much needed building repairs.”

Maintenance and operation funds pay teachers and classified personnel not paid with state funds, augments the budgets for food service, transportation, special education, co-curricular activities, textbooks, administration and support for grounds maintenance.

If approved the capital projects levy will add about $20 to the tax bill for a $200,000 home, or 10 cents per $1,000. About 90 percent of this will be used to replace and upgrade flooring and roofs in the district’s five schools.

According to the Island County Auditor’s office 5,269 ballots must be cast. Exactly 2,108 to validate a ballot items and 60 percent of those or1,265 at minimum are needed for approval of the ballot measures.

A majority of ballots have likely already been cast. About 6,000 voters in the school and parks districts were eligible to vote by mail this election. Polls will be open Tuesday for about 3,000 voters who did not vote by mail.