Washougal school levies passing by wide margins

The second time may be a charm for the Washougal School District’s replacement levies.

Preliminary election results published Tuesday evening, April 25, show the school district’s largest levy — the three-year educational programs and operations (EPO) levy that funds student learning and staffing and operations costs not covered by the state, as well as athletics programs, health and safety needs and instructional support — passing by 14 percentage points with 2,857 “yes” votes (57.22%) and 2,136 “no” votes (42.78%).

The district’s smaller levy, the three-year replacement capital levy for technology, health and safety improvements, which would help replace a failing roof at Washougal High School, make ADA improvements and provide technology support to Washougal students, also was passing by a comfortable margin of about 12 percentage points as of the first ballot count on Tuesday, with 2,735 “yes” votes (56.18%) and 2,133 “no” votes (43.82%).

“We are very excited to see such strong returns in favor of the two levies,” said Washougal School District Superintendent Mary Templeton. “(We’re feeling) a deep sense of gratitude to our community — that’s really what’s filling our hearts right now. This is excellent news for our students and excellent news for our community. It’s going to allow us to continue to do the excellent work that we’re doing with students every day in our classrooms and fulfill the expectations that this community has to see the school district and the community rise to the top.”

After voters rejected both replacement levies in the February special election, Washougal School Board members voted to re-run the levies in the April 25 election.

School district leaders said a second failure to pass the two replacement levies would result in a 20% reduction of the district’s operating budget and the loss of 244 staff positions — including 40 teachers, counselors and certified staff members; 44 paraeducators, custodians, bus drivers, secretaries and other classified staff members; five district administrators; and 155 coaches and club advisers — for the 2023-24 school year.

“We are humbled to have the support of the Washougal community, which has stepped up once again to fill the gap between what we receive from the state in basic funding and what is needed to provide excellent schools and programs that engage every student,” Les Brown, the district’s director of communications and technology, wrote in an email to families. “With this continuation of voter support, we are excited to continue to provide excellent opportunities for students, including early learning to ensure every student is reading at grade level by third grade and addressing learning loss. Levy funded programs make Wasougal an educational destination, where students choose their pathway and have the support from caring teachers and staff to achieve their dream.”

The EPO levy rates for 2023-25 are lower than the rates voters approved in 2020: $1.99 per $1,000 assessed property value (APV) in 2024, 2025 and 2026, down from $2.14 per $1,000 APV in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The levy is expected to collect $9.5 million in 2024, $10.5 million in 2025 and $11.5 million in 2026.

WSD leaders recommended keeping the replacement capital facilities and technology levy rate at 21 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value (APV) in 2024, then increasing it to 84 cents per $1,000 APV (2025) and to 85 cents per $1,000 APV in 2026, to help the district address several long-term maintenance and safety needs, including new security door access systems; a new roof at Washougal High School; new boilers and control systems for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the district’s older buildings; new flooring; and doors at main building entrances that will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The school district projected the levy would collect $950,000 in 2024, $3.95 million in 2025, and $4.15 million in 2026.

If the levies pass, they will replace the district’s current levies, which are set to expire at the end of 2023.

“We’ve got a lot of really good things going on in our community right now, especially as it pertains to activities and athletics,” Washougal School Board president Cory Chase said during a school board meeting held Tuesday, April 25. “The kids that are involved in athletics, activities, everything that they’re doing, they just shine, and they do a great job. They’re just a wonderful representation of our community. I can’t say enough good things about (them).”

After voters rejected the measures in February, district leaders scheduled a series of “listening tour” sessions to gather feedback from local residents, a practice they plan to continue post-levy.

“I do want to thank those that came out for the listening tours,” Chase said during the April 25 meeting. “I really appreciate (the people) that come out, especially those that may have some sort of negative impression of what we’re doing, may not be supportive of me personally, or may not be supportive of the district.”

Templeton said district leaders realized after the listening tour that they needed to continue to reach out to the district’s voters.

“We recognized that we needed to continue to communicate,” Templeton said. “We sent strong, positive messages through social media about the excellent opportunities that are happening every day in classrooms. We worked really hard to up that (communication) to make sure that everybody was seeing the good news. And we sent a fair amount of information home to folks – the good news, but also some straight talk around the impacts (of a double-levy failure).

“I also know that there’s a lot of community members on their own time out there advocating, whether it be social media or waving signs or talking to their neighbors. I think there was a lot of community engagement and involvement, neighbor-to-neighbor, friend-to-friend, and I think that helped.”

The Washougal Citizens for Schools political action committee said the community came together to help pass the replacement levies after the levies failed during the February election.

“We are so incredibly appreciative of all of our volunteers, including parents, students, staff and community members, who turned out over the last two months, working to share information and encourage our community to step up in support of our kids,” the Citizens for Schools group stated this week on its Facebook site. “Business owners, civic leaders, and others came out, along with our students, athletes, coaches, teachers, and staff, to share the important ways the levies fund student opportunities and learning.”

A group of Washougal residents, led by Clark County Republican Party precinct committee officer Glenn Kincaid, encouraged voters to reject the levies, arguing that the district was lying to them about a variety of issues, including the amount of additional taxes, the cost estimate of the Washougal High roof replacement project and the severity of the proposed reductions; and the students’ “failing” test scores didn’t warrant continued investment.

“We are excited about the doors that are opening for all of us as we move through a very complex challenging time,” Templeton said. “The last 70 days have not been easy. It’s been difficult. But it’s also brought us to that positive outcome, which is a sense of togetherness as a community, a sense of gratitude, a sense of humility, and a sense of listening.”

Clark County Elections reported Tuesday that elections workers had counted 4,718 ballots for the April 25, 2023 Special Election, which included the Washougal School District’s replacement levies, as well as a replacement EPO levy for the Woodland School District in north Clark County, and had an estimated 2,500 ballots left to count. Voter turnout as of Tuesday, April 25, is at 31.69%. The county will count ballots again at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 26.

For more information, read this week’s Post-Record or read us online at camaspostrecord.com.