School Bond Remains 2,837 Ballots Short of Validation

On the eve of the election, LSSD's second attempt to pass a construction bond teeters on the precipice of failing without even reaching an up or down vote.

First, the good news: over 1,800 additional ballots have arrived since the last count three days ago, according to a 4:00 pm update to county ballot totals.

Now, the bad news: the Lake Stevens School District bond measure remains over 2,800 ballots short of validation, with just one day left for voters to return ballots. 

The situation in short: failing a stunning late rally, the district’s bond measure is in serious trouble.

To put it bluntly, validation is possible but unlikely.

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SNOHOMISH COUNTY — As of 4:00 pm Monday, Feb. 10, a total of 8,588 ballots have been returned to the county auditor, falling 2,837 short of the 11,425 total required to meet the turnout requirements needed to allow the measure to go forward.

If the bond doesn’t validate, that means that the district’s second attempt at what is somewhat misleadingly marketed as a $314 million dollar bond¹ will go down – this time without even qualifying for an up-or-down vote. 

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Bonds require both supermajority support of 60% or more combined with at least 40% turnout (with respect to the previous general election) to achieve passage.

The 11,425 validation number represents 40% of the district-wide voter turnout from last November’s general election – which saw record turnout. 

It was during that November election that the previous version of the LSSD bond measure failed to gain voter approval, falling less than 450 votes necessary of the 60% supermajority required for passage.

In the end, over 15,000 people voted to approve the bond – but that figure represented 58.3% of the voting populace – 1.7% short of passage.

“February is the Most Successful” — Behind Lake Stevens School District’s Strategic Decision to Re-run the Failed November Bond

The November 2024 bond failure was the first time an LSSD finance measure failed to pass in over four decades.

It was also the first time in recorded history that LSSD ran a ballot measure in any month but February.

If approved, the $314 million dollar bond allows Lake Stevens School District to build a new elementary school; repair and renovate Glenwood and Skyline Elementary Schools and Lake Stevens Middle School; construct a new secondary innovative learning center; and make “district-wide safety, health, security, educational, athletic and infrastructure improvements, including: providing secure perimeters and reception areas, adding electronic door locks, improving spaces for special education, improving athletic fields and expanding public access, and acquiring land.”

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The True Cost of Lake Stevens Prop. 1

True Cost of Bond

In voting yes, taxpayers are in effect agreeing to shoulder a $588 million repayment plan that breaks down to a little over $32,000 in responsibility for a median-value homeowner. 

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Fourth Quarter Rally?

At this moment, the time and opportunity still exists for the district’s bond campaign to stage a fourth quarter rally and turn up the ballots required to validate.

To do so would require an organized all-hands-on-deck effort that doesn’t appear to be present. J425 noted two lonely sign waivers