OLYMPIA, Wash.- Washington superintendent of public instruction Chris Reykdal celebrated the passage of the vast majority of education levies across the state on Feb. 13, and issued a warning about the failure of most school bonds.
According to the Office of the Superintendent, over 90% of local levies funding education were successful during Tuesday’s election. Reykdal argued that voters conveyed their support for well-funded schools with their ballots.
“Preliminary results from yesterday’s Special Election show how committed voters are to their local public schools,” Reykdal said.
While the superintendent could tout the levies that passed across the Evergreen State, the same cannot be said for bonds, which fund school construction rather than ongoing operations. Based upon the office’s research, only a third of school bonds will succeed this election.
“Student learning is impacted when a school has a leaking roof, when students are squeezed into spaces because the building isn’t big enough, and when classrooms are too outdated to meet the needs of 21st century learning,” Reykdal said.
Washington’s constitution requires 60% of voters to approve a bond rather than simply over 50% as required for levies. Reykdal has advocated for changing the state constitution to lower the bond passage threshold to a simple majority.
Levies required 60% support until 2007, when the constitution was modified to lower the percentage to only over 50%.
A bill to change the bond passage threshold to a simple majority, which was endorsed by the superintendent, died in committee during this legislative session.
The Spokane Public Schools bond only received a simple majority on Tuesday, meaning it failed to find the required 60% of support. The requested $200 million in construction and maintenance cannot move forward as planned.
