Centralia’s two-year replacement levy looks closer to passing after Wednesday ballot counts tilted the measure to 50.62% approval.
The levy is leading by 69 votes — a larger margin than it was losing by on election night when it was behind by 23 votes — and it will need to keep a 50% majority plus one vote in order to pass.
According to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, the next updated count of any remaining ballots will be May 6, a day before the election is certified
So far, 2,805 ballots have come back in favor of the levy and 2,736 against it. A total of 5,541 ballots have been tallied so far.
In Lewis County, there have been 2,770 votes in favor of the levy and 2,664 opposed. In Thurston County, 35 voters have approved the measure and 72 have opposed it, according Wednesday’s updated tally.
If passed, the district will collect $1.50 per $1,000 assessed value starting in 2022. In total, the school district will collect $9.1 million over the 2022 and 2023 collection years.
If passed, the local replacement levy will fund services such as support staff, counselors, athletics, technology, special education and other programs.
The district’s previous levy expired in December 2020, and shortfalls reported the summer prior resulted in 90 school employees being laid off.
Voters have twice within the past 14 months voted down attempts by the school district to replace its levy.
In February 2020, voters denied a levy rate of $2.50 per $1,000 in assessed value with a 69% no vote. Then, in August, voters rejected another measure, this time for $2.00 per $1,000 assessed with 50.38% of voters against it.
The Centralia School Board held a meeting Wednesday night, and the preliminary election results were on the agenda for discussion.
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The story will be updated.
The previous story is below:
The Centralia School District’s third attempt at passing a replacement levy was failing on election night with 49.78% voting in approval of the tax and 50.22% opposed.
That’s a difference of just 23 votes. The school district will need to reach 50% approval in order to pass the replacement levy.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant said the initial results are unfortunate, but the district will be holding out hope that votes tallied in the coming days will push them over the edge and into a majority.
“We are holding out hope, but it would have been great to be over that 50% tonight,” she said Tuesday evening. “No matter what, we are going to continue to move forward and serve our students, but we are also going to be watching this count very closely tomorrow.”
The Centralia School Board is due to have a discussion on the levy at its regular meeting Wednesday. If the measure fails, the board will have the option to run it on the August ballot or decide otherwise.
“We have had a lot of people who have worked to support us, and so no matter what we are thankful for the support of those who have worked in our community,” she said. “But nothing’s final yet.”
If passed, the district will collect $1.50 per $1,000 assessed value starting in 2022. In total, the school district will collect $9.1 million over the 2022 and 2023 collection years.
About 5,121 ballots have been counted so far. An updated ballot count is expected Wednesday afternoon.
So far, 2,549 ballots have come back in support of the measure and 2,572 have come back against it.
The school district includes some voters living in Thurston County, with 66 votes against the measure and 34 in favor.
In Lewis County, 2,515 have voted for it and 2,506 have voted against it.
If passed, the local replacement levy will fund services such as support staff, counselors, athletics, technology, special education programs, and other necessities.
The levy would tax $450 a year for an average $300,000 home, the school district says.
The district’s previous levy expired in December 2020, and shortfalls reported the summer prior resulted in 90 school employees being laid off.
Voters have twice within the past 14 months voted down attempts by the school district to replace its levy.
In February 2020, voters denied a levy rate of $2.50 per $1,000 in assessed value with a 69% no vote. Then, in August, voters rejected another measure, this time for $2.00 per $1,000 assessed with a slim 50.38% of voters against it.
