Debra will discuss her community's successful initiative to expand their library district beyond the Sedro-Woolley city limits to the boundaries of the Sedro-Woolley School District, including some 15,000 rural residents in its scope. This "partial rural county library district" will be self-supporting and will provide library services to an additional 2,000+ school children and their families who currently have no funded library services.
The initiative required the signatures of 10% of the area's registered voters on a petition to get the measure on the ballot; the district will be funded through a property tax levy at a maximum of $.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value; and Skagit County commissioners will appoint a five-person committee to guide the formation of the new district. Once formed, the district has various options for providing library service without necessarily forming a whole new library.
The Library Board of Trustees encourages everyone interested in this successful initiative to attend the meeting and learn how citizen action can expand library services in Skagit County. The meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 2:30 pm at the Anacortes Library.