CHIMACUM — Sponsors of a failed Chimacum school bond are looking to sustain the momentum generated by a recent public meeting as they deliberate when to resubmit the measure to voters.
Whether the Chimacum School Board will put the measure on an April 26 ballot is on the agenda at a state Board of Education retreat taking place today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the administration building, 91 West Valley Road.
The $29.1 million measure would finance an addition to Chimacum Creek Primary School, making it into a full-fledged elementary school housing preschool through fifth grade, along with capital improvements.
The bond fell about 100 votes short of approval in the special election earlier this month.
About 20 people attended a strategy meeting Friday morning at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock to map out the rapid process needed to win approval in April.
The meeting was hosted by two members of the Chimacum School Board — chair Cammy Brown and board member Maggie Ejde — with the purpose of evaluating a timeline that was submitted by Staci Matthes, Kelly Liske and Heather Scott, all of whom have children in the district.
It followed a special school board meeting last Wednesday where support for the measure was nearly unanimous.
There was disagreement about whether the board should resubmit it in April or wait for the refinement of a cohesive advocacy plan.
“We always run bonds in the spring because we’re agriculture, we’re planting stuff,” Scott said.
“We are planting food here, and we’re growing kids because they have to grow wherever they’re planted.”
The quickly assembled campaign is using the motto “We grow kids, we grow community.”
It outlines almost daily activities planned from today to April 20, including informational meetings in highly populated places, new yard signs, letters to the editor, newspaper columns, advertising and doorbelling.
Brown and Ejde are scheduled to make a recommendation to the full board today, which can provide the go-ahead to resubmit the measure at that time or at the regular board meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the high school library.
In order to appear on the ballot, the measure needs to be submitted to the Jefferson County auditor by Friday.
It could be rewritten, an idea no one at the meeting favored.
“This is a great idea, but it didn’t pass because not enough people got a solid message,” said Eric Jorgensen.
Added educational consultant Jay Garthwaite: “This is the most thoroughly vetted proposal I’ve ever seen. You’d be surprised how many bonds go to ballot with far less validation.”
On Feb. 9, the measure gained support from 2,749 voters, or 58.04 percent, and was opposed by 1,987 voters, or 41.96 percent — about 100 votes short of what it needed for the 60 percent-plus-one vote needed for approval.
Garthwaite said the district shouldn’t attempt to convert those who voted in opposition; rather, it should concentrate on getting people who did not vote to show their support.
This is part of the timeline, which includes a mailing to registered voters who did not vote Feb. 9, for delivery on the same date the ballots are received and assembled from a list supplied by the auditor’s office.
Kris Mayer, a retired teacher who served on the state Board of Education, said the district should work to refine the message and spell out how it benefits the voter, which could include detailing the advantages of a community that is made up of educated people.
The district needs to work to keep its current support, Mayer said, as there is no guarantee that someone who voted in favor Feb. 9 would do so again April 26.
Advocates need to educate voters about the measure’s benefits, which means they need to know the measure inside and out, according to campaign chair Ted Friedrich.
“The two reasons given most frequently for not voting were ‘I didn’t know’ and ‘I didn’t understand,’ ” Friedrich said.
“If we are going to educate the voters, we need to explain why people support it. If we say, ‘I don’t know,’ we are going to lose our credibility.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
