Update: Kennewick, Finley and Prosser school levies failing. Here are the results
All three Benton County school levies are failing to pass after initial vote counts.
Kennewick, Finley and Prosser school districts were all asking voters to renew their operation levies that expire at the end of this year.
Kennewick School District administrators admitted late Tuesday night in an email that they expect the levy will fail.
“We will continue to monitor the results as updated counts are provided. However, based on election night results, it is unlikely that the district will gain the necessary votes over the next week to reach the 50% approval needed to pass the levy,” said the email.
Here are the election night results:
- Kennewick’s levy was failing with 6,118 votes against, or about 52.7%, and 5,493 votes in favor, or 47.3%.
- Finley’s levy was failing with 329 votes against, or about 54.65%, and 273 votes in favor, or 45.35%.
- Prosser’s levy was failing with 947 votes against, or 53%, and 834 votes in favor, or 46.8%.
An updated ballot count is expected Thursday afternoon.
Countywide, an estimated 5,000 ballots still need to be tallied.
Voter turnout so far in Benton County was nearly 21%. A total of 14,054 ballots were counted as of election night.
All three districts attempted in February to pass replacement operation levies, but voters turned them down. Districts then responded by reducing their requests.
Staff and programming cuts are expected at all three school districts if these levies fail.
The soonest the districts will be able to go back to the voters for funding is February 2023, though those funds won’t be collected until 2024.
They’ll also be missing out on missions of Washington state equalization money.
It’s the Kennewick district’s first double-levy failure.
“If the levy does not gain the votes needed to pass, once results are final, district staff will be working with the school board to identify budget reductions for the 2022-23 school year,” the email read.
In a Wednesday morning Facebook post, Finley district staff said they would continue to monitor the results.
“The election results will be officially certified on May 6, after which we will work with our school board to identify budget cuts needed for the 2022-23 school year,” the post read.
Prosser Superintendent Matthew Ellis said his school board and districts had already been drafting a preliminary list of districtwide budget cuts.
“Everybody will feel the cuts, including our students unfortunately,” he said, adding later: “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
His district expects to take a $10.7 million hit to its budget over the next two years.
▪ The Kennewick School District was asking voters to pass a reduced two-year operations levy that would collect $20.62 million next year and $23.37 million in 2024. The measure would have cost homeowners $1.75 per $1,000 of assessed value the first year, and $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed value the second year.
For a home valued at $350,000, the homeowner would have paid $612 the first year and about $645 the second. That same home this year paid about $577.
Kennewick’s levy pays for staffing, instructional support, paraeducators, maintenance and athletics.
The Prosser School District is asking voters to pass a two-year levy rate of $2.13 per $1,000 of assessed value. The rate would allow the district to collect $3.78 million next year and $3.89 million in 2023.
The tax bill would be about $745 home annually for a home valued at $350,000.
Levy funding at the district largely pays for athletics, counseling, nurses and maintenance.
▪ The Finley School District is asking voters to support a reduced two-year operations levy measure that would gather $1.48 million next year and $1.54 million in 2024.
The rate would tax $2.33 on every $1,000 of assessed value the first year and $2.37 per $1,000 assessed the second year.
Funding pays for staffing, nurses, counselors, maintenance and operations funding, athletics, technology needs and instructional supplies.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 8:23 PM.
