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OSPI data · 2019-20 to 2024-25 (most recent published)

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How Local Effort Assistance works

Local Effort Assistance (LEA), often called levy equalization, is the state's answer to a simple problem: the same school tax rate raises far more money in a property-rich district than a property-poor one. LEA measures that gap and pays the difference.

The short version

The state picks a per-student dollar goal. It then checks what a district's own property could raise at a standard tax rate. If that falls short of the goal, the state pays the gap - scaled down if the district taxes itself at less than the standard rate.

In 2027 the goal is $2,432 per student and the standard rate is $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. 154 of 287 districts qualify for at least some LEA.

The formula, step by step

These are the same four steps OSPI runs on its LevyCalc worksheet (rows Q, R, V and X).

  1. 1

    Measure the district's property wealth

    Multiply the district's total assessed property value by the standard LEA rate of $1.50 per $1,000, then divide by its LEA enrollment. This is a wealth test, not a real levy - it asks what the district could raise at a common rate, no matter what its voters actually approved.

    capacity per student = assessed value × $1.50 ÷ 1,000 ÷ enrollment
  2. 2

    Compare it with the statewide goal

    Subtract that capacity from the per-student goal. A district above the goal gets nothing; the shortfall for everyone else is the per-student amount the state is willing to cover.

    LEA per student = max(0, $2,432 − capacity per student)
  3. 3

    Scale it up to the whole district

    Multiply by enrollment to get the district's maximum LEA entitlement for the year.

    maximum LEA = LEA per student × enrollment
  4. 4

    Discount for districts that tax themselves less

    LEA matches local effort. A district levying the full $1.50 rate or more collects all of it; one levying half that rate collects half. This is why LEA is a match rather than a grant.

    payable LEA = maximum LEA × min(district levy rate ÷ $1.50, 1)

Worked example: Yakima School District

Assessed value
$9.6B
LEA enrollment
14,518
  1. 1. Capacity per student: $9.6B × $1.50 ÷ 1,000 ÷ 14,518 = $992
  2. 2. Gap to the goal: $2,432 − $992 = $1,440 per student
  3. 3. Maximum LEA: $1,440 × 14,518 = $20.9M
  4. 4. Effort discount: Yakima levies $2.4482 per $1,000, above the $1.50 standard, so the multiplier is 1.00 and it keeps the full amount: $20.9M

Yakima actually received $16.5M in LEA in 2024-25 (F-196 revenue code 3300). The formula figure above is the 2027 estimate, so the two differ by year, by enrollment counts, and by mid-year adjustments.

Why the goal moves

The per-student goal is set in statute and inflated each year. HB 2050 (2025) changed which enrollment counts in the calculation, and RCW 28A.500.015 was updated in the 2025 session to index LEA to the implicit price deflator (IPD) instead of CPI beginning in calendar year 2026. On top of that inflated base, the goal carries a one-year enhancement, which the 2026 session cut from $250 to $150 for 2027. That is why the goal is $2,432 in 2027 rather than a round number - and why it steps back down to $2,179 in 2028, when the enhancement drops away.

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