As the ballots for the Feb. 11 special election in Snohomish County continue to be counted, the Marysville School District seems poised to receive approval of both of its levies, while the fate of the Lakewood School District’s bond remains up in the air.
As of Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 4:51 p.m., the Marysville School District’s Proposition 1, for the replacement Educational Programs Maintenance and Operations Levy, has received 5,132 “Yes” votes, or 55.39 percent of the vote, and 4,133 “No” votes, or 44.61 percent of the vote. Proposition 2, for the new Technology Levy, has received 5,274 “Yes” votes, or 56.93 percent of the vote, and 3,990 “No” votes, or 43.07 percent of the vote.
“Although ballots are still being counted, we feel very positive about the overall outcome,” Marysville School District Superintendent Dr. Becky Berg said in a press statement on Feb. 12. “Thank you so very much for supporting our district and schools. The passage of these two measures is good for all kids, our schools and our community, and will provide the needed support for student learning.”
Berg also thanked the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, the city of Marysville and the Tulalip Tribes for their support.
At the same time, the Lakewood School District’s Proposition 1, for the bond to renovate Lakewood High School, has received 1,390 “Approved” votes, or 57.8 percent of the vote, and 1,015 “Rejected” votes, or 42.2 percent of the vote.
Fred Owyen, whom the Lakewood School District has contracted as its capital project manager, noted that these results have already cleared one required hurdle, but are currently falling just short of another.
“We’re gotten enough ballots cast that these results will easily be validated,” Owyen said on Feb. 12. “Right now, though, we’re not to the required 60 percent supermajority just yet. We expect more ballots to be counted, and we’ll keep watching the updated results in the meantime, but we’re very pleased with how much support we’ve received from the community so far. This is well over 50 percent of the vote in favor of approving this bond.”
Owyen thanked the district’s facilities advisory committee and other volunteers for the work they’ve put into this project over the course of the past year.
