The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dayton passes improvements bond, Waitsburg bond is failing

WAITSBURG – Dayton, Waitsburg, Dixie, and Prescott school districts all received strong voter approval on their replacement maintenance and operations levies, easily meeting the 50% plus one yes-vote needed to pass in the county’s Feb. 9 special election.

Dayton also passed a four-year capital projects levy, but the outlook for Waitsburg’s 20-year capital projects bond is grim.

Dixie’s voters showed the strongest support with a 72% yes vote on the district’s two-year replacement $461,460 M&O levy. As of Tues., Feb. 16, 190 voters had turned out with a total of 137 yes votes and 53 nays.

Waitsburg’s voters readily approved the M&O levy request to collect $559,000 in 2017 and $570,000 in 2018, passing the levy with nearly 70% approval. Of 538 ballots counted, 375 were in favor of the levy with 163 against.

The district’s proposed 20-year capital improvements bond, which requires a 60% approval vote, was failing at 57.01% approval, on Tuesday afternoon. This is up slightly from the initial Tuesday night poll results of 55.8%.

At the Feb. 10 school board meeting Superintendent Carol Clarke said that, with mail-in ballots, it was “not impossible” that the bond could still pass before the results are certified on Feb. 19.

Over 68% of Prescott voters approved the district’s two-year replacement M&O levy with $650,000 to be collected in each year. Of the 189 voters returning ballots, 130 voted in favor of the levy, with 59 opposed.

In Columbia County, the Dayton School District passed both a replacement M&O levy and a capital improvements levy, with over 63% approval for each. After failing to pass school measures the past two years, Dayton’s Citizens for Education Committee waged a strong and effective campaign to win voter approval this year.

The new four-year levy will collect $1.46 million in years 2017 through 2020. This is up from the current levy amount of $1.3 million. Of 1330 total votes, 842 were in favor of the levy with 488 against.

A four-year capital projects levy, in the amount of $1,025,000 will be used for facilities and technology improvements. In years one and two, $437,500 will be collected each year, and $75,000 will be collected the final two years. Of the 1,327 ballots counted, 847 voted in support of the bond, with 480 voting against.