Oak Harbor Public Schools’ $121 million bond measure failed to get a supermajority vote in the Feb. 14 special election.
The measure would have funded the replacement of three aging schools and enhanced safety throughout the district. Just over 55% of voters cast ballots in favor of the measure. While it was shy of the required 60% supermajority, it was a significant increase from a larger bond measure that was on the ballot a year ago and received less than 45% approval.
This may not be the last time voters will be presented with a request to fund school construction projects. In a statement, Superintendent Michelle Kuss-Cybula said the school board faces difficult decisions in the future.
“We cannot give up on our students,” she said. “We will continue to shake the trees, engage in critical conversations and confront misconceptions within our community about bonds, school governance, and embrace those who have rolled up their sleeves to help us with the heavy lifting.”
The Marysville School District finally passed its levy Feb. 14 after four failed attempts in two years.
Continued failure of the bond measure puts at risk a pledge from the Department of Defense to provide 80% matching funds, a total of $109 million, to replace Crescent Harbor Elementary and the Hand-in-Hand/HomeConnection school. Communications Officer Sarah Foy said the Department of Defense gave the district a window of five to seven years to get local support for the remaining 20% construction costs. The district began its bond planning three years ago.
In her statement, Kuss-Cybula pointed to low voter turnout as a factor in the election. Overall voter turnout was only 35%, with only 39% of eligible parents voting and 74% of eligible district staff voting, the district reported.
Kuss-Cybula wrote that delaying the projects will only cost the district, and taxpayers, more in the future. The aging and overcrowded elementary schools, she said, will continue to depreciate in time and the cost of replacing them will continue to escalate.
“The costs associated with constantly fixing and maintaining our buildings will continue to drain our resources and funds that could go towards improving student learning outcomes,” she wrote.
In addition, safety continues to be a “heightened priority” for the community, she said. The bond would have funded the construction of single-point entries at all the schools. The idea of limiting access points is a national standard for school safety. Just this week the Federal Commission on School Safety issued a report recommending best safety practices and highlighting entry control as effective.
The bond measure would have funded the replacement of Crescent Harbor Elementary, Oak Harbor Elementary and Hand-in-Hand Early Learning Center/HomeConnection. The schools are overcrowded with many students having class in portable classrooms that lack restrooms or sufficient heat. The buildings themselves are in poor condition, with asbestos-laden tiles at one school failing.
