Election results: Voters in 5 Tri-Cities school districts weigh in on levies
All Tri-City public school levies were passing as election night results rolled in on Tuesday night.
This includes two school districts that had experienced double levy failures last year and were at risk of heavy cuts to their staff and budgets next year.
Levies need a simple majority of 50% plus 1 to pass.
The next tally will be published online 4 p.m. Wednesday. About 31,500 ballots have been counted so far in Benton County, and there are an estimated 4,000 ballots left to tally.
Special election results will be certified Friday, Feb. 24.
Benton County Elections Manager Amanda Hatfield said she expects voter turnout for the Feb. 14 special election to be about 30%.
Kennewick 3-year education levy
Kennewick School District’s levy was passing with 55% approval. After Tuesday night’s count, there were 8,660 in favor and 7,044 against.
If the trend holds, Kennewick will avoid deep budget cuts that would have overwhelmingly impacted education, athletics, as well as health and security programs. The district experienced a historic double levy failure last year, and stopped collecting local property taxes at the beginning of 2023.
Kennewick is asking voters to pass a three-year, $72 million levy to fund student learning and staffing, security, instructional support, maintenance, special education support and athletics and extracurricular activities.
“We are very pleased that the levy is passing and very appreciative of the community support,” Superintendent Traci Pierce said in a prepared statement. “While we won’t know the final outcome until the election is ratified, we are very encouraged with the level of voter turnout and the election night results.”
The levy would raise $23 million in 2024, $23.85 million the second year and $24.7 million the final year. The estimated rate will range from about $1.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value the first year to about $1.63 per $1,000 the third year.
The total annual cost for a home valued at $300,000 would be $519 in 2024, $504 in 2025, and $489 in 2026.
Richland 6-year capital levy
The Richland School District measure to pay for safety and security enhancements was also passing with 54% approval, or 7,329 in favor and 6,209 against.
Richland was asking voters to pass a six-year, $23 million capital improvement levy to support school safety and security.
The money would also pay for pre-design development of a third comprehensive high school, which will eventually be built out in West Richland.
If passed, the new levy would tax property owners $0.31 per $1,000 of assessed value beginning in 2024 with a gradual decrease over the next five years.
The owner of a home valued at $400,000 would be taxed about $124 annually, or about $10.33 a month, in the first year.
Finley 2-year education levy
Finley’s levy proposal to fund education programs was passing with 51.7% in favor and 48.3% against it.
About 855 total votes have been tallied so far.
The district was asking voters to pass a two-year, $2.9 million operations levy for staffing, athletics, extra-curricular activities, maintenance, counselors and nursing, technology and instructional supplies and curricula.
The district was forced to make budget cuts to several programs this school year in response to last year’s double levy failure. It put curriculum adoptions on hold and made cuts to several sports teams.
If the levy passes, the district says it will be able to resume those programs, as well as reduce class sizes, improve facility upkeep and increase opportunities in music and arts programs.
The levy would tax property owners $2.25 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2024 and $2.27 per $1,000 in 2025.
For a home valued at $300,000, that annual tax bill would come out to $675 in 2024 and $681 in 2025.
Kiona-Benton City 2-year operations levy
Kiona-Benton City School District’s replacement levy to fund education programs was narrowly passing on election night with a 21-vote lead.
About 50.9% of the 1,354 ballots counted so far were marked in favor of the measure, while 49.1% were against.
Ki-Be School District is asking voters to renew a two-year, $3.61 million operations levy that would pay for support counselors, safety staff, nurses, special education funding, technology support, athletics and other extracurricular activity programs.
They’re asking voters to continue paying the existing levy amount of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Owners of a home valued at $300,000 would continue paying about $450 annually.
Paterson 3-year education levy
Paterson School District’s replacement levy was overwhelmingly passing on election night.
Only 47 votes have been tallied so far in the small school district. Of those, 42 — or 89.4% — were in favor. The other five ballots were against it.
Voters there are being asked to renew a three-year, $1.1 million operations levy to pay for security enhancements, transportation, technology, upgrades to its food services, extracurricular activities and to keep their class sizes small.
The proposal would tax 68 cents on every $1,000 of assessed property value. The annual burden would be about $204 a year on a home valued at $300,000.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 8:38 PM.
