Odessa School District voters approve annual levies

ODESSA — Voters in the Odessa School district, which covers portions of Lincoln, Grant and Adams counties, overwhelmingly approved replacement and capital levies in Tuesday's special election.

The latest tally was at 4:02 p.m. Wednesday and results will be finalized Feb. 19. Ballots will be counted Feb. 16 as well.

Voters approved Proposition 1, the district’s annual replacement levy, 324 to 137 — with a tally of 6 to 5 in Grant County and 16 to 14 in Adams County. The one-year levy of $2.04 per $1,000 in assessed value is expected to raise $550,000 in 2022.

“We run them in Odessa every year,” said Odessa School Superintendent Dan Read. “I’ve been here six years, and it has been past practice long before I arrived.”

Read said the annual replacement levy, which will pay for programs not covered by state and federal funding, “coincides with the local hospital levy.”

In addition, voters in the three counties approved Proposition 2, the district’s annual capital levy, in a 331-133 vote — 6-6 in Grant County and 16-14 in Adams County. The levy, which is set at 37 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, is expected to raise $100,000 in 2022.

According to Read, the Odessa School District has 207 K-12 students (with another 15 preschoolers) and an annual budget of around $4.2 million.