PORT ANGELES — The first vote count in the special election had all three Clallam County school district propositions passing by healthy margins.
Voter turnout Tuesday was 38.63 percent, with 12,137 votes counted.
“Yes” votes led “no” votes by 57.9 percent for Quillayute Valley School District’s Educational Programs and Operation levy, according to numbers published Tuesday night on the Clallam County auditor’s website.
Early numbers showed Sequim School District’s two ballot measures also were on their way to approval, with 67.9 percent of voters backing a replacement EP&O levy and 65.72 percent approving a 20-year, $146 million bond for capital improvements.
School levies require a simple majority to pass and bonds require a supermajority of 60 percent or more to pass.
Quillayute Valley School District’s four-year, $6 million levy renewal will raise $1.51 million annually through 2029.
The estimated tax rate would be $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2026, $1.40 in 2027, $1.26 in 2028 and $1.13 in 2029.
“We are very grateful to the voters who support our kids,” Superintendent Diana Reaume said.
The levy, she said, “will continue to support our programs like athletics. It will pay for maintenance and repairs to keep our facilities in great shape.”
Passage of the levy makes the QVSD eligible for $20.5 million in Local Effort Assistance (LEA) funds for property-poor districts, as well as funds from state Department of Natural Resources timber sales that Reaume estimated will bring in $21 million to $22 million over the next four years.
Sequim’s bond measure is on its way to passing after four failed attempts over the past 10 years: April 2014, February 2015, November 2015 and February 2016.
Superintendent Regan Nickels said the difference was concerted community outreach, particularly focusing on the poor condition of facilities.
“We went to them as well as inviting the community in, and seeing is believing,” Nickels said. “Getting people out on tours, whether that was actual walking tours, having Realtors do a bus tour and we put out a video and we were amazed at the number of shares, so we know that helped people see what was really happening.”
Monies from the bond will be used to replace Helen Haller Elementary School, build additions to Sequim High School, upgrade athletic facilities to make them ADA compliant, and make improvements and safety enhancements to other district infrastructure.
Sequim’s four-year, $36.2 million EP&O replacement levy will provide funding for school district libraries, counselors, nurses, extracurricular activities like athletics and music programs, and teacher and staff salaries.
The combined rate of the 20-year bond (91 cents) and four-year levy (94 cents) will be $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The next steps, Nickels said, include a school board session Wednesday night to discuss the preliminary results of the election and the release on Thursday of a bond oversight committee application and a design advisory committee application.
“We want stakeholders, meaning families, staff members and community organizations to think about the projects and the bond and which one they’d want to have a hand in,” she said.
Information can be found at www.sequimschools.org under the 2025 Bond/EP&O Levy tab.
The next vote count by the auditor’s office will be at 5 p.m. today. For election results, go to tinyurl.com/34v8nu7s.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
