Election: Late ballots deliver strong message to Pasco schools
Late ballots counted Wednesday secured a decisive win for Pasco School District’s operations levy.
Results updated at 6 p.m. showed the four-year, $154 million measure passing with 59% support, or by 8,500 votes. About 6,000 voted against the levy, or 41%.
It needed more than 50% support to pass.
Franklin County Election Department has just 41 ballots left to count, not enough to overcome the 2,500-vote lead. Final results will be updated noon Friday, May 8, shortly before results are certified.
Administrators, teachers school board members and school staff are breathing a sigh of relief.
“We are incredibly grateful to our Pasco community,” Pasco Superintendent Michelle Whitney said. “This support reflects a shared commitment to our students and their future. This levy allows us to continue providing the programs, opportunities, and staff that help every student learn, grow and succeed.”
A double levy failure would have meant the loss of $50 million in annual funding, risking potentially several hundred jobs and cuts to beloved programs, including sports and music.
Pasco’s Feb. 10 levy request for renewal failed by a very slim margin — just 60 votes — prompting supporters to examine if voters had become apathetic with the way things had been. Just one-third of eligible teachers and staff voted in that election, and turnout was at a record low.
At least 32% of the district’s 45,100 registered voters turned out for the April 28 election. That’s 14,500 ballots cast.
It’s the highest turnout for a Pasco school levy in more than a decade, and the widest margin of victory since 2018.
The tax will pay for athletics, educational opportunities, technology, curriculum, extracurricular activities, music and the arts, counselors, nurses, transportation and student safety.
It will collect an estimated $2.08 on every $1,000 of assessed property value within the school district beginning next year. On a home valued at $400,000, that’s about $832 a year.
