— from San Juan County Elections Office —
A manual count to recount the votes that were certified in the February Special Election was held the morning of Mar. 3, 2017 in the Elections Office of San Juan County. Two recount teams of two each recounted 2,215 votes in the Orcas Island School District #137 Bond issue.
The number of votes counted in the manual recount was the same number of votes certified by the canvass board on Feb. 24. The results of the manual recount conducted on Mar. 3 are as follows:
Approved: 1,323 Votes
Rejected: 887 votes
Overvotes, Undervotes: 5 votes
In the February election, 59.86 percent of votes cast in the Orcas Schools bond measure were in favor, just short of the 60 percent majority required to pass. The final ballot count had a total of 2210 votes cast, 1323 votes to approve and 887 votes to reject.
On Monday, Mar. 6, the Canvass Board will meet to re-certify the results of the Special Election.
For more information about the recount, contact San Juan County Elections Administrator Doris Schaller at (360) 378-3357.
Great! Now that that is done let’s get back to what is great and good for the school and community!
Remove the Track from the bonds of the Bond. Put a levy out on it and pass it with the 50% needed for a levy. Run it and convince the community on the merits of a Track.
Put forward a Bond, without the track, that puts the NEEDS!! of the School to a vote. Don’t be greedy with it, be reasonable and don’t over reach.
Let’s go for it!!!
Recounts seldom change results, but they do confirm the closeness of the election — in this case a measure lost by just 3 votes, about one-tenth of one percent!
The school board should run the measure again without change. The bond included big ticket items for repairs, replacements, and improvements to our public schools. Paying for capital facilities with bonds is the best approach because it keeps the costs down and spreads the payments over the life of the assets.
Although a levy has only a 50 percent approval requirement, it is not a good device for financing capital improvements. Save the levy for maintenance and operations and tech assets.
The school board has made the case for the track, an asset that exists at almost every school district. Best of all, a track is a real community asset, that will be used by people of all ages regardless of sport or activity level. The track makes sense at its full price, but if we act now it will be available with a $1 million grant (gift) for construction plus an endowment for the school. Now is the time for the track, the new music facilities and other upgrades and improvements.
I wonder if a subsequent election can have TWO line items:
A. Do you support this list of various projects, such as a music room, remodeled gym locker rooms, and roof repairs, etc.?
B. Do you support construction of a track facility?
Ed, you bring to light, more selection for the community to possibly better engage.
I haven’t heard any resistance in taking care of the schools needs, but there has been enough questions raised about the track that it truly needs the focus it deserves.
While I wasn’t a supporter of the track, for a few different reasons.. if the majority of the community is willing to step up and make it so on a separate account, I’m in.
But I feel we owe the generous family that stepped up for the track, to do this so as to not divide our community over it.
Break it out separately and I’ll support it if the community wants it.
Clyde
Dear School Board,
As Randy Gaylord has suggested, please just run it over again without changes. You did your best, or so you said. Don’t back off now.
Looking at the history of the School Bond’s Request since 2010 when the 35 million dollar bond request failed and then a request for 27 million also failed. A 11.9 million bond was approved in 2012 and the improvements for the school were great.
There was very little support at public meetings for the track but the Board decided to go ahead and put it in the latest bond request that failed. Let’s fund the basic needs for the school.
Find another way to fund the track
Those who are opposed to paying for a track, please do more research and understand that THIS TRACK IS A DONATION FROM A VERY GENEROUS FAMILY! The 1.2 to 1.3 million dollars requested in the bond are necessary for field improvements. The fields are used by every child in the school (for PE, recess, etc) and even some children that don’t go to the school (maybe go to the Christian School, or Salmonberry School or Spring Street School or Home School) yet participate in Little League Baseball, Park and Rec soccer, Kings football, etc! These field improvements are long overdue and would have been part of what Pierrette makes reference to – the failed 35 million dollar bond from 2010! Just try walking across one of those fields now…they need serious help with or without a track! Lets fix the fields and build a track as Randy and Charlie state above!
When is the earliest a new vote can be put to the people?
It seems the chance is just as likely to fail (again) as it is to pass. Take the time to re-think this.
The reality of the ball fields at the Orcas School is that they are in urgent need of repair. In practical terms, the fields where the students have outdoor gym classes and Little League games are broken ankles waiting to happen.
So, I would suggest that the School District has the priorities backward. If the District were to suggest that a bond issue should include $500,00 for repair and upgrading of the ball fields, including the current football field that is just flat worn out, AND THEN suggest that a large donation from a generous Orcas family would ALSO allow for construction of a track, then the combined project would have the appropriate perspective.
The School District would be investing in its facilities as it has on all past bond proposals, and on the other projects that are included in this request.
I could sell that concept and would vote in favor of the whole package. Change the perspective. However, to protect the other items on the request, I would run the proposal as two line items. The School Board should approve another ballot issue. AND the District administration should do a better job of selling the package. I am certain that there are community leaders who would help make that happen.
Looks like the day to file for a special election in April is February 24. Assuming the school board did not file for a special election means the next possible election/voting day is November 7th.
Plenty of time to get things adjusted to get a solid majority AND get the needs addressed.
Actually they could have a special election in August but
the cost of a special election is about $25,000. if they are the only one on the ballot Filling would need to be done by May 12th. Filling for the November election is August 2nd.