Kelso School District voters will be asked to approve a 20 percent levy increase in February.

The Kelso School Board unanimously voted Monday to propose a four-year levy that would raise about $7.3 million annually for the district. The levy would replace a $6.14 million per year levy that will expire next year.

If approved, the current levy rate of $3.30 per $1,000 of assessed valuation would increase to $3.99. The owner of a $150,000 home would pay $598.50 annually through 2014. That’s about $100 more a year than property owners pay now.

Ballots will be due in the vote-by-mail election Feb. 9.

Passing the levy increase may be a challenge while the economy struggles, but school officials said the bigger levy would soften — though not erase — cuts they expect to make next year because of reduced state funding.

After the meeting, board member Bob Simmons said he believes voters will understand the district’s effort to stave off deeper cuts.

“When people compare what the levy asks for to what the needs are, they’ll come through,” he said.

The program and operations levy — called a maintenance and operations levy by most school districts — helps pay for teachers, programs, maintenance and other expenses not funded by the state. A bigger levy also would allow the district to spend at least $300,000 a year to replace computers and purchase other equipment.

School officials anticipate the Legislature, facing a another budget shortfall, will reduce funding for levy equalization, a program that helps districts with low property values keep up with districts that have larger tax bases.

Former board member Diane Dick was the only one to speak against the proposal. She urged the board to increase the levy by only a few percentage points. A 20 percent increase is “more than excessive,” she said.

“The district truly needs a levy which will be approved by voters,” she said. “I wonder how unemployed voters will be able to justify the additional costs.”

Asking voters for more money after cutting popular programs last year could make this levy a tough sell, she added.

“I wonder what hard-working parents feeling the losses of full-day kindergarten, orchestra or outdoor school will feel about voting for these levies,” she said.