Voters appear to have approved school district maintenance and operations levies Tuesday in Chimacum and Quilcene by large margins.
After polls closed and absentee ballots received by Tuesday had been counted, 71.9 percent of voters in Chimacum and 66 percent of the voters in Quilcene had voted for their district’s respective levies.
“I don’t think it’s ever been that high,” said Chimacum Superintendent Mary Lynne Derrington, who has been in the district seven years. “It is really marvelous.”
The Chimacum School District asked voters to approve a two-year, $3.65 million maintenance and operations levy.
The Chimacum levy is slightly increased over the two-year, $3.5 million levy passed in 2000.
In 2000, voters first rejected the two-year levy in April, before passing it in September.
That levy expires this year.
The failure led to $1 million in cuts by the district, and eight of 77 teachers were laid off, Derrington said.
With 3,569 ballots counted, 2,563 votes favored the levy; 1,000 votes, 28.1 percent, opposed it.
Quilcene election
In Quilcene, voters also showed strong support for the district’s two-year, $480,000 levy.
“It looks like we’re doing well so far,” said Quilcene Superintendent Judi Mackey when absentee ballot figures had been released at around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Mackey said school officials and teachers were anxiously checking the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office Internet site for updated results.
With 560 ballots counted by Tuesday, 66.9 percent — 375 ballots — of voters favored the levy and 28 percent — 185 ballots — opposed it.
The Quilcene school district levy was only $7,000 more than the levy that passed in 2000.
That levy expires at the end of the year.
Levy money is used to supplement state and federal funding, which traditionally doesn’t cover school district costs in Washington state.
Levy money goes for everything from paying for reducing class sizes to school maintenance to sports.
“We don’t have a whole lot of activities in the area for kids and to provide activities in the schools is important,” Mackey said.
State law requires a 60 percent supermajority in order for levies to pass.
A second levy ballot count will be held Friday at noon at the Jefferson County Auditors Office, and will include absentee ballots postmarked by Tuesday but received after that date.
The election will be certified on Feb. 15 at 8 a.m.
Port Ludlow board
Elections were also held Tuesday for commissioners for the Port Ludlow Drainage District, but a vote count won’t take place until Thursday at 1:30 p.m., Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge said.
Part of the reason is that many of those in the district are registered to vote in other parts of Washington.
That vote count will be conducted manually, Eldridge said.
The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
