OLYMPIA – Voters should decide whether a simple majority is sufficient to approve a school levy, the state House said today.

The House voted 73-25 in favor of putting before voters a proposed state constitutional amendment that would change passage requirements for school levies.

Proposed constitutional amendments need two-thirds approval by each chamber before they can go before voters, who can approve them by a simple majority. The House resolution goes next to the Senate.

"If the voters don't want to approve it then they don't have to, but I'm not afraid to let them speak," said Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, who is sponsoring the resolution for the seventh year.

While the state must fund basic education, the constitution grants school districts the power to levy taxes to secure additional funding. It provides that a levy must be approved by a "super majority" of at least 60 percent. It also states that the number of people voting must be at least 40 percent of the voter turnout from the last general election.

Under the proposed constitutional amendment, voters could eliminate the super majority and the 40 percent turnout requirements.

Amendment supporters in the House said the reasoning behind the 1944 requirements is outdated.

Homeowners then were worried about losing their property and having property taxes raised without their knowledge. The state had more than 2,000 school districts and many people didn't know which one they lived in.

Now voters are bombarded with election information, the state has less than 300 school districts and voters are likely aware of upcoming levies, Schual-Berke said.

The super majority requirement is simply not fair, many representatives said.

"If a politician wins with 59 percent it's considered a landslide, but if a school levy gets that it's a failure," said Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo. "Why do we discriminate against our schools?"

Five out of 24 school levies failed in the most recent round of elections, but they all earned simple majority approval, said Barbara Mertens, assistant executive director of Washington Association of School Administrators.

The consequences of levy failures can include layoffs and the elimination of student programs, she said.

The resolution would give voters choices, supporters said.

"Voters not only get to choose (whether they like the amendment), but they always have the opportunity to say 'yes' or 'no' to the levy itself," Mertens said.

Resolution opponents said the super majority requirement protects property owners from needless taxes.

"Property taxes are the only taxes where you are taxed before you earn anything, and they the only ones where if you fail to pay you can lose your property," said House Minority Leader Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, who voted no.

Schual-Berke said she's more optimistic about her resolution's chances this year than ever before.

Mertens said her organization is lobbying hard for senators to support the idea of the vote — even if they are opposed to the amendment.

"There are people who are opposed to the simple majority who are legislators, but it's time to send it to the people to broaden the base of a debate," she said. "It shouldn't be bottled up in Olympia any longer."