No, Washington did not jump ahead of Iowa in the presidential primary. That ballot in your mailbox is for something arguably more important: Seattle’s February 9th special election on education funding. Voters in Seattle are being asked to consider replacing two expiring property tax levies which provide funding for Seattle Public Schools.

The first levy would replace an expiring levy which funds Seattle Public School operations. The Operations Levy would raise around $758 million from 2017-2019 — roughly a quarter of SPS’s operating budget. According to SPS, the levy dollars are applied to a wide spectrum of costs, including salaries, textbooks, classroom supplies, bilingual and special education, and student activities such as athletics, music, and arts.

The second measure is smaller levy focused on construction and modernization of Seattle school’s buildings. The Buildings, Technology and Academics IV Levy would replace an expiring capital levy and raise $475 million from 2017-2022.

SPS is expected to add 4,000 students by 2020 to its current 52,000 student population. Officials, including Mayor Ed Murray, say the levies are crucial to meeting the demands of the school’s growing population and uncertain funding future with the state.

Local funding sources remain crucial to sustaining Seattle’s public schools as the state continues to fall short of its obligations to fund K-12 education. State Legislators are now covering under the close watch of the State Supreme Court to come up with $3.5 billion for teacher compensation by 2017. The court ruled in the 2012 McCleary v State of Washington decision that the state was violating the constitution by underfunding public education.

Voters approved a similar levy in 2013 that paved away for several SPS projects including the overhaul of the Meany campus for a 2017/2018 opening of a new Capitol Hill middle school.

Legislators got some welcome news last week when a King County Superior Court judge struck down the Tim Eyman-backed initiative that many saw as tying the hands of state lawmakers during crucial budget negotiations. Passed by voters in November, I-1366, requires legislators pass a rule that requires a two-thirds vote for increasing taxes or drastically decrease the sales tax rate from 6.5% to 5.5%. If legislators cut the sales tax, that excises some $1.5 billion per year from the state budget.

And, no, Seattleites don’t pay too much property tax already. “Seattle ranks sixth among the 50 largest U.S. cities for the median amount paid by homeowners in property tax,” the Seattle Times reported. The 2014 median cost was $4,022, up $808 from 2005, the Times noted. That’s a lot. But the reason Seattle landowners pay so much is because the property is worth a ton:

If you’re talking about property-tax rates — no, according to a study by the city government of Washington, D.C. It compared the property-tax rates for the largest city in each state and the District of Columbia. Seattle had an effective rate of 94 cents for every 100 dollars of assessed value in 2013, ranking us only 38th out of 51. Seattle property taxes are high because our homes are worth so much, not because we’re being gouged by an excessively high rate.

According to the Seattle Times, there will be a record $228.5 million in voter-approved levy taxes collected in the city in 2016.