Kiona-Benton City school levy passing by a slim margin. It’s the 3rd try
Kiona-Benton City school officials were breathing a little easier Thursday after seeing the second-day vote count on the district’s levy.
The measure was passing by 51.56% or 1,057 yes votes to 993 no votes.
On election night on Tuesday, there was just a three-vote difference after an initial round of counting.
“It feels great because it’s great for kids,” Superintendent Pete Peterson told the Herald on Thursday.
The district will need to wait until May 7 for the results to be certified. The Benton County Auditor’s Office said the nearly 36% of voters returned their ballots, or 2,052 of the 5,717 ballots sent out.
The levy is for $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value and will raise about $1.45 million next year and $1.55 in 2023.
It will pay for various programs and services such as athletics, music, technology support, special education class sizes, nurses, counselors, safety staff, advanced classes and extracurricular activities.
Ki-Be school officials have struggled to pass their levy. This was the third vote in just over a year.
Voters rejected a larger levy for $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value in February 2020. It failed 56% to 44%.
A second attempt last August was for $1.72 per $1,000 of assessed value, and failed 54% to 46%.
Since then, then district cut $1.3 million out of its budget, eliminating several positions and laying off a counselor and administrator.
With strong opposition to the levy, Peterson said it’s important to earn the community’s trust.
The district will launch a new Ki-Be Schools Community Council as a way for the community to share thoughts with the superintendent and district administrators. The first meeting is May 13.
“While we are grateful that the levy has passed, we acknowledge that many people in the community were not in favor of it,” Peterson said. “We understand that community trust is earned through fiscal responsibility and clearly showing the value of local tax dollars to the students of our district.”