Snoqualmie Valley school bond goes back on the ballot April 26
March 18, 2011
School board members (from left) Dan Popp, Carol Loudenback and Marci Busby listen to school bond detractor David Spring suggest that the school bond re-vote be postponed. The board disagreed with Spring, voting 5-0 to put the bond back on the ballot in late April. By Sebastian Moraga
The Snoqualmie Valley School Board voted in favor of bouncing back this spring from its closest defeat in recent memory.
The $56 million school bond to build a new middle school will appear in an April 26 ballot, thanks to a unanimous 5-0 board vote. The Feb. 8 vote on the bond fell two one-thousandths of a percent shy of the 60 percent needed.
Strict rules guide voter recounts
March 16, 2011
You may talk, but not interrupt. You may write, but not in dark ink. You may observe, but not meddle. And you may tuck that cell phone away, thank you.
Welcome to an election recount, the latest of which became essential to solve a close vote on the Snoqualmie Valley school bond.
Gathered around a skimpy table, stern people make a printed piece of paper feel more important than it probably had felt in months.
One holds it, overlooks it, slides it over to the teammate, who re-reviews it and then sets it aside like a flat centerpiece.
“As long as they agree, they keep moving to the next ballot,” said David Spring, who observed the recount of the school bond vote and who opposed the bond.
While the counters count, people standing behind the table keep an eye on things. These observers, like Spring, can do that and not much else.
Snoqualmie Valley school bond is back on ballot for April 26
March 15, 2011
The Snoqualmie Valley School Board voted in favor of bouncing back this spring from its closest defeat in recent memory.
The $56 million school bond to build a new middle school will appear in an April 26 ballot, thanks to a unanimous 5-0 board vote. The Feb. 8 vote on the bond fell two one-thousandths of a percent shy of the 60 percent needed.
“It’s two one-thousandths of a percent: A supermajority of our Valley said yes. I stand with the majority, with the people who believe this is the right thing to do,” said Board President Dan Popp.
A bond too far: Snoqualmie Valley school bond falls short
March 9, 2011
NOTE: An earlier version of this article described three past bonds as construction bonds
The King County Elections Canvass Board upheld the result of the Feb. 8 bond vote, certifying a slim defeat for a proposed new middle school on Snoqualmie Ridge.
 King County Elections employees review a ballot in the hand recount for the Snoqualmie Valley School District bond proposal from the Feb. 8 election. (By Katie Gilliam) |
The bond supporters gathered 59.99 percent of the vote, short of the 60 percent needed said Katie Gilliam, communications specialist for King County Elections.
“We’re disappointed,” said Jim Reitz, of the pro-bond group Valley Voters for Education. “It couldn’t possibly be closer. I am sure there are hundreds of people kicking themselves for not getting their ballots in on time and I’m sure that next time they will be very anxious to correct that.”
Reitz said the decision now belongs to the school board regarding whether there will be a next time.
Final results in Snoqualmie Valley school bond election delayed by questioned ballots
March 4, 2011
Snoqualmie Valley residents will have to wait a little while longer to learn the outcome of a $56.2 million school bond to build a new middle school. King County Elections’ canvassing board had been expected to finalize the results of a hand recount Friday afternoon.
But supporters of the bond questioned voters’ intent for three ballots, which could turn the election’s outcome, according to a King County Elections spokeswoman.
The canvassing board decided to review the three ballots at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The board makes the final decision on questioned ballots following state guidelines.
King County Elections finishes bulk of hand recount of Snoqualmie Valley school bond
March 3, 2011
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King County Elections employees review a ballot in the hand recount for the Snoqualmie Valley School District bond proposal from the Feb. 8 election. (By Katie Gilliam) |
It took less than two hours for eight 2-person teams of King County Elections employees to finish a hand recount of more than 9,200 ballots cast in the Feb. 8 election by Snoqualmie Valley School District voters. At issue is the district’s $56 million bond to build a new middle school.
The department’s Canvassing Board will meet at 2 p.m. Friday to decide on three contested ballots. The voter’s intent is not clear on one ballot. The other two ballots could be counted if the board verifies the voters’ signatures on them. To conceal how those voters filled out their ballots, they will be mixed in with about 600 ballots that have not been examined in the recount.
The recounts final results will then be posted online.
The bond measure lost by a single vote. Within hours of the results being certified, supporters of the bond had raised the $2,650 needed to pay for a hand recount.
Kudos to the citizens!
March 2, 2011
We were mightily impressed to see the quick fundraising that school supporters took on themselves to raise the needed $2,700 for a recount of the school bond ballots.
If the recount finds the extra vote needed to approve the bond, it will save the district thousands of dollars from having to put the bond on a future ballot.
If the recount confirms a failed bond, we hope these same citizens will encourage the school board to try again with another vote.
Every vote counts, for better and worse
March 2, 2011
Think your vote doesn’t count? Guess again.
Snoqualmie Valley School District’s bond measure in the Feb. 8 election puts the importance of every vote in neon lights. The $56 million proposal hangs on a single vote. At stake is a new middle school for the Snoqualmie Valley. If one of the 9,955 valid votes switches from no to yes, the bond passes.
So yes, every vote counts.
Snoqualmie Valley voters chip in to pay for school bond vote recount
February 24, 2011
When supporter of the $56 million bond measure to build a new school in Snoqualmie Valley heard that it had failed by a single vote, they started to call for a recount.
The campaign went online. A Facebook page, SVSD School Bond Recount, to raise money to pay for a recount went up Wednesday, and by evening, the group had the $2,650 needed for a recount.
Sean Sundwall, who set up the Facebook page, said he plans to deliver the money and request to King County Elections on Thursday afternoon.
School bond less than 0.1 percent away from passing
February 16, 2011
The bond proposal to build a middle school on Snoqualmie Ridge stood on the verge of a comeback win when new results were released Feb. 18 by King County Elections.
The bond measure had 59.94 percent of the vote, just shy of the 60 percent needed to pass.
The other item on the Feb. 8 ballot — a bond measure for a new fire station in North Bend — was passing.
Katie Gilliam, with the King County Elections office, said she expected a 38 percent countywide voter turnout, but offered no “hard-and-fast” figures for voter turnout in the Valley.
So far, elections officials have counted votes from nearly 50 percent of all registered voters in the Snoqualmie Valley School District.
