Special election results: Yelm's education levy fails by slim margin

Unofficial results for the April 23 Thurston County special election show the Yelm Community Schools educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy proposition improving from its Feb. 13 special election numbers but still failing by a narrow margin.

As of 5 p.m., Thursday, April 25, 3,036 voters, or 49.54%,  were in favor of the levy while 3,092 voters, or 50.46%, opposed.

According to Thurston County Elections, 32.21% of issued ballots were received as of Wednesday, April 24, and there are no more ballots left to count.

In Pierce County, 473 voters, or 42.04%, were in favor of the proposition, but 652 voters, or 57.96%, opposed. According to Pierce County Elections, there are no more ballots left to count.

In total, as of Thursday, 3,509 voters, or 48.38% across the two counties chose to approve the proposition while 3,744 voters, or 51.62%, opted to oppose.

The four-year replacement levy, which would take effect in January 2025 if approved, would provide funding for the district to pay for programs such as athletics, activities, mental health services, and special education, as well as staffing.

YCS' first attempt at approving the EP&O levy failed in the Feb. 13 special election, with 2,779 voters, or 52.96%, opposed to the proposition while 2,468, or 47.04% supported replacing the levy. The school board voted to place the proposition back on the ballot in April with a lower tax rate of $2.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value, compared to the originally proposed $2.50 per $1,000.

The EP&O proposition is not a new levy, but it would replace the current levy that expires at the end of December. The funding it would collect makes up nearly 13% of the district’s budget. According to district information, 50 cents of every dollar collected would go toward teaching and learning, while 25 cents would go toward support services; 15 cents to fund operations; and 10 cents of every dollar would support athletics and activities.

The district has already begun to make cuts to its staff, particularly assistant coaches for athletics and activities, to prepare for another possible levy failure and as it faces the task of balancing its budget. YCS projected earlier in the month that it would finish the 2023-24 school year with a fund balance of $3.3 million, $1.6 million short of its projected balance of $4.9 million from its adopted balance in August. The approved budget already included a deficit of $1.2 million less than the district's minimum fund balance policy.

If the proposition fails again, YCS cannot try again until February 2025.

The next update for the Thurston County special election will be released Thursday, May 2 at 5 p.m. Go to https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/auditor/elections/april-23-2024-special-election for updated results. Pierce County's next update will be released at 4 p.m. the same day at https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240423/pierce/ .

This story will be updated.