Special election results from across Eastern Washington are rolling in. Voters were mainly asked to approve school bond and levy requests.
Plenty did. But a few of the region's biggest asks—-from Newport and East Valley School Districts—were denied.
Newport School District
Newport School District officials plan to regroup after their bond proposal failed on Tuesday's election.
Newport School District accumulated 46.3% in support for the $46.3 million bond, far from the 60% needed to pass the bond.
April Owens, chair for the school board, said the bond likely failed because of people’s concerns of having to pay more taxes.
“I have to admit, I was expecting a better result,” Owens said. “I did think that we would be closer to that 60% than it was.”
The bond proposal focused primarily on modernizing Newport High School. This included upgrading the school’s failing heating, ventilation and air conditioning system along with building an auxiliary gym, replacing the roof and improving science labs along with career and technical education areas.
The bond would have taxed property owners at a rate of $1.75 per $1,000 in assessed property value for up to 22 years. The school district’s last bond was approved in 2004 for Sadie Halstead Middle School.
“We're going to have to figure out what options are on the table,” Owens said. “If we want to take advantage of some state funding, we will have to run another bond… There's a lot that needs to be done, so we'll just have to take a look and see how we want to proceed.”
East Valley School District
With the East Valley School District bond measure at 54% approval, it's about 6% shy of what it needs to pass. Superintendent Brian Talbott said he doesn't expect the measure to gain enough ground as the last votes are counted.
East Valley had hoped to use the 220 million dollars to build a new high school and a new middle school.
"[I'm] certainly disappointed, but not disappointed in our community," Talbott said. "We recognize that it was a big ask and we actually garnered a whole lot of support in our community—and buzz and attention. So it's not done. It's just not now. We've got work to do to figure out how to get over that massive 60% hump."
Talbott said the last time the school district put a bond measure to the voters, it only got 37% approval.
"We're changing the narrative," he said. "Our community recognizes the needs. But unfortunately, by the time that they get a chance to say yes to a tax, they've been taxed so hard that they don't have it.”
The district now has about two weeks to decide if it wants to put a similar measure on the April ballot. Talbott said he and his team are weighing the needs of students against the exhaustion of taxpayers.
Other results
Likely successful operation levies:
Newport School District
Cusick School District
Selkirk School District
Keller School District
Wilbur School District
Creston School District
Harrington School District
Lind School District
Ritzville School District
Odessa School District
Valley School District
Colville School District
Mary Walker School District (Springdale)
Curlew School District
Republic School District
Oroville School District
Pateros School District
Tekoa School District
Endicott School District
Rosalia School District
St. John School District
Clarkston School District
Likely successful capital levies
Wilbur School District
Lind School District
Ritzville School District
Odessa School District
Lacrosse School District
Endicott School District
Rosalia School District
St. John School District
Plus, Twisp passed a transportation benefit district sales tax and an EMS levy.
