Voters approve school levies

EPHRATA - Grant County voters approved school district levies for Ephrata, Grand Coulee and Quincy, but rejected Royal's, in a special election.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the auditor's office counted 6,151 ballots. The special election had a 51 percent voter turn-out.

Early numbers indicate voters supporting school levies, school bond, port district boundary elimination and cemetery levy.

The office has approximately 75 ballots left to count.

The election will be certified on Feb. 23.

Ephrata School District

Ephrata School District's levy passed by 63 percent.

The levy is for four years and collects $4.74 per $1,000 assessed property value from property owners.

"The passage of this levy gives us security knowing we can continue the programs for the kids for the next four years," said Ephrata School District Superintendent Jerry Simon. "We are very pleased the community is continuing to support our schools and our kids ... We feel fortunate to live here."

Simon said the levy passage combined with a $1.66 million levy equalization fund for 2011 accounts for 21 percent of the district's annual revenue.

The levy raises $14.2 million for the school district in the next four years.

Grand Coulee Dam School District

Grand Coulee Dam School District's levy passed by 56 percent.

The district covers four counties: Douglas, Grant, Lincoln and Okanogan.

The four-year levy collects $1.1 million from property taxes per year, according to Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson.

The district collects $4.37 per $1,000 assessed property value from property owners.

"Most of the people we talked to on the phone were very supportive of the levy. They understood the economics of things," he said. "People understand that we have to do things that aren't always state-funded, like turn on the lights and run the school buses. This levy is meant to maintain current programs even with some of the anticipated budget cuts from the state. It's meant to keep us where we are."

Carlson said the district hopes to maintain its small classroom sizes and after school and athletics programming.

Port District 7

The Grant County Port District 7 board position are now at-large position, accepting commissioners from Grand Coulee or Electric City.

The commissioner eligibility change passed by 54 percent.

The port district, located in Grand Coulee, previously required one commissioner each from south and north Grand Coulee and one commissioner from Electric City.

Port district treasurer Kary Byam previously stated the population difference between the district-based model created a disproportionate eligibility pool.

The new at-large model encourages commissioner participation, he stated.

Quincy School District

Quincy School District's levy approval raises $27.2 million during the next four years.

The levy passed by 59 percent.

The four-year levy collects $2.95 per $1,000 accessed property value in 2012, $3 per $1,000 accessed property value in 2013, $3.05 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2014 and 2015.

Quincy Valley Cemetery District 1

Quincy Valley Cemetery District 1 will be able to work on road maintenance and operation services with the passage of a one-year levy.

The special tax levy passed by 61 percent.

The cemetery district collects an additional 15 cents per $1,000 assessed property value from property owners.

The levy raises $280,535 for the district.

Some project plans for the district include overlaying roads, straightening headstones, upgrading a pump house and possibly building a shelter to store burial flags, according to Mike Scharbach, president of the cemetery board.

Royal School District bond

An $8.8 million general obligations bond for the Royal School District failed, garnering 53 percent but needing 60 percent to pass.

The bond would have been repaid through an annual levy against excess property tax within the next 15 years.

The district planned to use bond money to construct buildings for grades four through six, expand and renovate Royal High School, renovate the Royal Middle School computer lab and make various Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accessibility improvements.

Note: an earlier version of the story eroneously stated that the Royal bond had passed. We apologize for any confusion our mistake may have caused.