Pasco school levy fails for 1st time in 26 years. What happens next?
Pasco School District’s educational programs and operations levy has officially failed.
The margin was thin. The four-year, $153 million measure needed 60 more yes votes to get a simple majority and pass.
It’s the first time since 2000 that Pasco has failed to pass this type of tax measure.
The final numbers posted at 5 p.m. Thursday showed the levy failed 5,424 votes, or 49.73%, to 5,483 votes, or 50.27%. The difference is a little more than half a percentage point.
The Pasco School Board called a special meeting Thursday to figure out what to do next.
It agreed quickly to tentatively plan on running another measure in April. But it’s unclear how much it will ask voters to approve or if the district will stick with a four-year request or something shorter.
About 10,900 of the nearly 44,800 registered voters in the school district — less than a quarter — chose vote on the measure on the Feb. 10 special election ballot.
The district still has one more chance in 2026 to pass a local tax to fund athletics, educational opportunities, counselors, nurses, transportation and student safety.
Local levy revenue makes up about 10% of the school district’s annual operating budget.
If it fails again this year, the district must wait until next year to try again. In the meantime, its current levy expires at the end of this year.
Pasco School District serves about 18,300 students in more than 30 schools.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 8:49 PM.
