The Mossyrock, Onalaska and Winlock school levies were all failing on election night Tuesday, April 22.
But the outcomes for at least two of the measures are too close to call.
The Mossyrock School District Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy is currently trailing with 611 voters opposing the measure and 584 supporting it.
The Winlock School District Educational Programs and Operations Replacement Levy is currently trailing with 609 voters opposing the measure and 586 supporting it.
The Onalaska School District Educational Programs and Operation Replacement Levy is currently trailing with 895 voters opposing the measure and 703 supporting it.
The final measure on Lewis County ballots, a Lewis County Fire Protection District No. 4 bond to construct a new fire station, was supported by a majority of voters with 56.91 percent, or 247 ballots, in favor and 187 voters opposed. However, the measure needs 60 percent of the vote in order to pass.
The next ballot tally will be announced Wednesday by the Lewis County Auditor’s Office. While the office estimated there were only four ballots left to count after Tuesday night, that doesn’t include mail-in ballots that were postmarked in time for the election but had not arrived as of election night. The state requires the auditor's office to report how many uncounted ballots it has in hand on election night, not those that haven't arrived.
There were a total of 13,264 eligible voters across all the local ballot measures and there were 4,426 ballots counted as of election night for a turnout of 33.37%.
Learn more about the special election and the Lewis County Auditor’s Office at https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/current-election.
More about the local ballot measures:
Mossyrock School District Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy
This is the district’s first attempt to pass a replacement for its existing levy, which expires at the end of 2025.
If passed, the measure would replace the expiring levy with a new three-year levy that would allow the district to collect up to $1,475,686 in 2026, $1,647,682 in 2027 and $1,741,495 in 2028. The estimated levy rate would be $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value for all three years.
The levy would be used to cover expenses of educational programs and operations that are not fully funded by the state, such as teaching, school supplies, athletics, field trips, special education programs, student technology and curriculum materials, facility maintenance and other non-capital expenses necessary for the district to operate.
Onalaska School District Educational Programs and Operation Replacement Levy
This is the district’s second attempt to pass a replacement for its existing levy, which expires at the end of 2025.
If passed, the measure would replace the expiring levy with a new three-year levy that would allow the district to collect up to $1,891,440 in property taxes in 2026, $1,948,184 in 2027 and $2,006,629 in 2028. The estimated levy rate would be $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value for all three years.
The levy would be used to fund Onalaska School District education programs and operations that are not fully funded by the state, such as athletics and activities, health and counseling services, student transportation costs, technology staffing, equipment improvements, staff professional development and training, special education costs, utilities maintenance, preschool programs, and enhanced security measures.
The Onalaska School District is asking voters the same amount it did on the February 2025 special election ballot. That measure failed with 715 (47.92%) votes in favor and 777 (52.08%) votes opposed.
Winlock School District Educational Programs and Operations Replacement Levy
This is the district’s second attempt to pass a replacement for its existing levy, which expires at the end of 2025.
If passed, the measure would replace the expiring three-year levy with a new two-year levy that would allow the district to collect up to $1,480,000 in property taxes in 2026 and up to $1,682,000 in 2027. The estimated levy rate would be $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value for both years.
The levy would be used to fund Winlock School District education programs and operation expenses that are not fully covered by the state, such as extracurricular programs, special education, staffing costs, classroom technology, academic and behavioral support, student safety and security, and general maintenance and equipment costs.
The Winlock School District is asking voters for a lesser amount than it did on the February 2025 special election ballot.
That measure, which failed in February with 570 votes (47.54%) in favor and 629 (52.46%) opposed, would have set the estimated new levy rate at $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value for three years, with the district asking voters to allow it to collect up to $1,680,000 in property taxes in 2026, $1,900,00 in 2027 and $2,100,000 in 2028.
Lewis County Fire Protection District No. 4 Bonds to Construct New Fire Station
The Morton-based fire district is asking voters to approve up to $3 million in 20-year bonds to fund the construction of a new fire station.
“The inadequate size and aging and outdated facilities of the District’s existing fire station, and the need to improve community, firefighter and emergency responder safety, require the District to provide firefighting and emergency response facilities for the protection of the public health, life and property by constructing a new fire station sized to meet the community’s current and future firefighting needs,” District 4 states in the resolution.
