Edmonds School District voters were approving by a significant margin a school bond and levy according to first-day returns released by the Snohomish County Elections Office Tuesday night.
Both Proposition 1, a $594 million construction bond, and Proposition 2, a four-year, $120 million technology levy, were passing by a margin of 64% to 36%.
Proposition 1 calls for selling $594 million in construction bonds to fund accelerated completion of Oak Heights Elementary and replace the voter-approved 2021 Capital Levy. The bond measure would also replace College Place Middle and College Place Elementary, construct a fifth middle school at the former Alderwood Middle location, replace Westgate Elementary, and incorporate various bond renewal and upgrade projects.
Also included in the proposition is the proposal to move the district’s sixth graders to middle school. Moving sixth graders to middle school means that students will have a wider range of course offerings as well as access to lab science, the school district said. The transition would coincide with completing all middle school construction for the start of the 2028-29 school year.
Proposition 2 involves a capital levy that would fund a combination of student technology supplies including Chromebooks, pay for professional training and development to provide instructors with the needed skills to teach this material, and upgrade the district’s network infrastructure. The cost of these projects is estimated to be $120 million over four years.
The next vote count update will be released by the Snohomish County Elections Office at 5 p.m. Feb. 14.
Congratulations Yes for ESD Kids and the Edmonds School District!
Fantastic news! This was my first Levy Vote since I moved to Edmonds after living in a city that always passed Levy Votes. As a retired Elementary teacher, I am so happy to see I moved to another town that is so forward thinking!
Why don’t you report on the cost to property owners? It’s as if the money will just come from somewhere else, versus another tax piled on all the others we pay. And what return will our kids get out of this? As far as I can tell, the unions and superintendents are failing our kids. Some new buildings and technologies won’t help the core problem. In the meantime, I pay the “private school tax,” where I have the privilege of paying thousands extra per year so my kids can actually learn something and not be indoctrinated with woke ideology. School vouchers would force healthy competition and better outcomes for our kids.
This is not a new tax. It is a replacement. Once the current bond and levy expire, these will start. By voting yes, you agree to continue paying these taxes. Unfortunately, the school district cannot function without these sources of funding.
Move to Russia if you don’t like our incredible, amazing, and fantastic public schools.
This is a big change in the historical pattern of election results for huge bond issues to replace worn out schools. Hoping the ‘yes’ margin holds as more votes are counted. Bye bye College Place Middle school building.
Thank you, Edmonds voters!!!! Passing the school bond means protecting students. There will still be future bonds to pass to get rid of all of the so-called “California Open Concept” construction in ESD, but this is a great start. Architects in the 1960s had no awareness of school shootings. Lucky them.
A big win for our community long term. Not only for the kids that will benefit but for so many other reasons also, not least of which is the message it sends about our values! A thank you extended to Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, and Brier residents also. Let’s not forget they also voted for these proposals. Work isn’t done – the ESD now needs to show they can manage the projects.
I am sure that Pacific Little League, SnoKing Youth Club, our feeder programs, and many other local teams will be grateful for these new facilities! Kids in both public and private school will use these facilities for years to come. Replacing the entire College Place campus will be a fantastic improvement to Edmonds/Lynnwood’s infrastructure. Thank you voters!