PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office has received 32 percent of the ballots sent to registered voters in the Quilcene and Brinnon school districts for Tuesday’s special election on three levies.
The two districts have 2,606 active voters and 842 ballots had been returned as of Thursday morning, said Sandi Eldridge, Jefferson County voter registration coordinator.
Quilcene School District is asking voters to approve both an Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy and a capital levy while Brinnon School District placed an EP&O levy on its ballot.
All three levies require a simple majority of 50 percent plus one to pass, officials said.
The four-year approximately $2.4 million EP&O levy for Quilcene (Proposition 1) is a replacement of the current levy. If passed, property owners will pay the same $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value as they have been paying, said Frank Redmon, Quilcene School District superintendent.
The capital levy (Proposition 2) for Quilcene will have property owners paying an additional $1.97 per $1,000 assessed value. It would be in place for two years for a total of $1.63 million in preparation for a possible bond proposal, Redmon said.
The Brinnon EP&O levy (Proposition 1) is an approximately $600,000 levy that at most would have property owners paying $1.02 per $1,000 per assessed value, which is similar to the current rates of the EP&O levy, said Trish Beathard, Brinnon School District superintendent.
Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday or dropped off no later than 8 p.m. that day inside or outside the county Auditor’s Office at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend; the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101; or the Brinnon Community Center, 306144 Highway 101.
More information about the three levies can be found at tinyurl.com/PDN-School-Levies.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
