The latest vote count from Tuesday night’s special election shows the Washougal School District’s construction bond measure rebounding from what a day earlier looked like a loss.
The Clark County Elections Department released updated results shortly before noon Wednesday, showing both the Washougal and Hockinson school districts’ measures passing with few ballots left to count. Hockinson’s measure — Proposition 1 — pulled the most support, with a 61.95 percent approval rate. And Washougal’s — Proposition 5 — received 60.69 percent approval, edging above the required 60 percent approval mark.
Washougal Superintendent Dawn Tarzian said she’s hopeful the final votes will help carry the measure. The proposal is the culmination of a yearlong study of facilities needs at Washougal schools. If the measure fails, the district will likely need to start over with a new bond campaign next year, she said.
“I’m guardedly optimistic,” Tarzian said.
Each district proposes to use tens of millions of dollars in general obligation bonds to build new facilities and enhance security at a number of campuses.
In Washougal, voters were asked to approve about $57.7 million in bonds, roughly a couple million dollars more than a similar bond proposal from 2008 that died with a measly 38 percent approval rate. The money from the latest measure would finance the construction of a new elementary school and replacements for Jemtegaard Middle School and Excelsior, the district’s small alternative high school.
The district would also use a portion of the money to build a new bus storage facility and enhance security measures on a number of campuses. Washougal High School would add a number of additional surveillance cameras in the coming years, and the new campuses would generally be far less open to intruders.
To repay the bonds, the district would levy excess property taxes starting out at 48 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for a homeowner. The rate means a person with a home valued at $250,000 would pay $120 in property taxes.
Hockinson is taking a similar approach, planning to use $39.9 million in general obligation bonds for a number of projects. The biggest piece of the project would be a replacement for Hockinson’s aging middle school.
The building is about 62 years old. With its crumbling concrete walls and a roof in need of replacement, Hockinson Middle School requires a new campus, district officials say.
A portion of the funding would also be used to add a number of new athletic fields, as well as wrestling and music rooms throughout the district. It would also go toward a long-term study on security and traffic at Hockinson Heights Elementary.
The district would also levy a property tax increase to pay back the bonds. Under the measure, taxes would increase by 3 cents to $2.74 per $1,000 of assessed home value — $685 a year for a $250,000 home.
With the first numbers coming out after 8 p.m., Tuesday, Washougal’s measure appeared to be falling barely short with 59.69 percent approval. At the time, Hockinson’s measure was passing, with 60.95 percent support.
Election officials estimated Wednesday that only 150 ballots were left to count in Clark County, where Washougal’s bond measure found the most support. Among Clark County voters, the measure has a 62.56 percent approval rate. Meanwhile, 48.35 percent of the ballots from Skamania County supported the proposal.
If the late wave of support holds strong, the Washougal School District will start unrolling security upgrades this summer, Tarzian said.
“Adding those safety amenities to our buildings would be our first priority,” she said.
More than 16,400 voters in Clark County were eligible to cast ballots in the election, and another 1,418 from Skamania County could weigh in on Washougal’s measure. Early estimates put turnout for Clark County at 39.62 percent. Turnout in Skamania County was comparable at 40.55 percent.
