Voters in the Vancouver school district overwhelmingly supported a $458 million bond measure that would launch a major construction campaign, building new schools and repairing old buildings. Whether there’s enough of those voters, however, remains to be seen.
The results of Vancouver Public Schools’ bond measure remained in limbo Tuesday night after only 24,306 ballots were counted. Bond measures must be approved by a supermajority of 60 percent or more, and must have a minimum turnout of 40 percent of the total number of votes in the last general election. That gave Tuesday’s special election, the first after 2016’s heated presidential race, a threshold of about 27,000 voters.
That means even though 68.22 percent of voters supported the measure, it could fail.
District Superintendent Steve Webb, however, said he was “incredibly optimistic” after results were released. He and a smattering of school officials and bond supporters gathered at the Bates Center for Educational Leadership as results were released.
“There are still thousands upon thousands of uncounted ballots, the ballots that were dropped off today and put in the mail today,” Webb said.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, an elected Republican who oversees the Clark County Elections Office, said he expects to count another 11,000 ballots, either dropped off on Tuesday or mailed. Assuming the same ratio of those ballots are from Vancouver as voted prior to election day – about 45 percent – the district could see nearly another 5,000 ballots, more than enough to cross the validation threshold.
Vancouver has not had a funding measure fail due to lack of validation since 1983, when a maintenance and operations levy received 80 percent approval but not enough people participated in the election, according to the school district. Levies at the time required a 60 percent supermajority plus the 40 percent turnout threshold, though the state has since eliminated those requirements for levies.
Bond supporters touted low interest rates and high district needs in order to persuade voters to support the $458 million bond. A grant and state help would provide another $93 million, making the overall funding package about $551 million.
Bond rates are at about 3 percent, and expected growth in the district — including the $1.5 billion waterfront redevelopment project — created ideal conditions to ask for funding, district officials have said.
The district projected property owners in the district will pay $1.52 per $1,000 in assessed property value if the bond measure passes. That would be an increase of 9 cents per thousand dollars over the 2017 tax rate, which results in an increase of $20 per year on a home valued at $225,000.
After the current bond, which voters approved in 2001, expires in 2021, that bond rate is expected to drop by 17 cents, for a total bond rate of $1.35 per $1,000 assessed value.
The bond, if the measure is approved, would replace eight schools, modernize four schools and the Kiggins Bowl, improve 24 campuses and build three new schools to accommodate anticipated enrollment growth.
Steve Bernhoft, chair of the Citizens’ Committee for Good Schools, thanked bond supporters and district staff for their commitment to investing in students.
“This, tonight, is huge,” he said.
Webb has said the failure of the bond measure could cost Vancouver students a quality educational experience. The district must add 100 new classes for K-3 students due to class-size reduction requirements, and 2,000 students are already in temporary classroom spaces.
“This community cares deeply about their children, and they care deeply about their public schools,” Webb said.
