The first results of the April special election are in, and Woodland Public Schools’ levy replacement looks to have the support it needs to pass the second time around.
Following the 8 p.m. deadline tonight, April 28, results from both Clark and Cowlitz counties showed that voters across the school district had majority support of the levy replacement. Of the almost 4,000 votes in the first count, the levy had about 54.4 percent approval.
On a county level, the levy had greater support in Cowlitz County which also had the majority of voters in the district. There, about 54.7 percent of voters were in favor of the levy, while Clark County’s support was 51.5 percent.
The levy would raise $5.4 million in the first year, $5.75 million in the second and $6.1 million in the third, according to the ballot proposition. The levy was estimated at a rate of $2.37 per $1,000 of assessed valuation paid in 2021 and $2.36 per $1,000 in the two subsequent years, which the district stated was about the same as the current levy rate paid on property taxes this year.
The results are a reversal of an identical ballot measure that voters turned down in February. In that election the levy had only 44.8 percent approval, according to certified election results. April’s election currently has close to a quarter more voters cast their ballots than in February, according to election result archive data.
Woodland Public Schools had decided to maintain the special election during the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed to stop its spread, citing the need for the funding secured for budgeting proposed. The district had prepared for a potential rejection of the levy a second time, previously coming up with a contingency plan that could have led to close to 50 district employees cut from the 2020-2021 school year.
A full report on the special election will be available in the May 6 edition of The Reflector.
