School levy ballots go out this week

By Doug Nadvornick, Spokane Public Radio

The ballots will be sent this week for the March 14^th school election in Spokane County. The election will conducted entirely by mail.

Fifteen county school districts will put basic operations levies before voters. Several districts will also offer additional measures.

The Central Valley School District is looking to build a new elementary school and a new middle school in the eastern part of the district.

Spokeswoman Melanie Rose says a $55 million bond issue would pay for those and to renovate three grade schools.

“Opportunity Elementary, which is pretty much in the heart of our district, was built 37 years ago, has never been remodeled,” she says.

“Opportunity Elementary would be remodeled, along with Ponderosa Elementary, down in the far southwestern corner of our district. And then, we would also remodel Greenacres Elementary, which is on the east side of Sullivan. It’s one of only two elementary schools right now that we have to serve all of the homes that are going in that area.”

Six other Central Valley schools would get new cooling systems and technology. If the bond issue is approved, the measure would add $60 to the annual tax burden for the owner of a $100,000 home.

Central Valley’s second measure is a maintenance levy that would provide funding to supplement the district’s basic state funding. It would replace the current levy that expires at the end of the year.

The Spokane School District also has a maintenance levy on the ballot. It would last for three years and replace an existing levy.

Superintendent Brian Benzel says the district started its public information campaign a few weeks early to adjust to the new vote by mail system.

“One of the concerns we have about, will people know what they need to know in time to vote, because we have seen a lot of people turn their ballot right around,” he says.

“Instead of peaking with our election, we’re getting up to a plateau around the 20^th of February and needing to sustain an information sharing campaign during that three week window.”

Ballots for the Spokane County school measures must be returned to the elections office or postmarked by March 14^th in order to be counted.