'A Big Step Forward': Centralia School Levy Surges to 69-Vote Lead on Third Try

By Eric Rosane / ericr@chronline.com

Centralia's two-year replacement levy appears to be getting closer after last-minute ballots counted on Wednesday tipped the measure to 50.62%.

The measure leads with 69 votes - a bigger lead than on election night, when it fell behind with 23 votes. It must retain a 50% majority plus one vote to pass.

The school board members and staff were delighted with the 92-vote turnaround and expressed excitement during a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday evening. Two previous attempts in the last 14 months to pass a replacement levy have failed, but the district reacted twice by lowering its proposed levy amount.

The Lewis County Auditor's Office announced that the next election will be published on Thursday, May 6th, and that the election will be confirmed the next day.

"This is really about our students, our community, our future," said Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant to the board of directors. “These funds will help us serve our students, and I know that from my point of view, as superintendent and as the board of directors, we want to be responsible. We want to be accountable for both how our funds are used (and the impact those funds have on our students and their success). "

Grant thanked the community for their support, including the Centralia Community Foundation and Citizens for Centralia Schools People who helped to spread the word about the measure.

“I am grateful to the citizens of Centralia who supported it. I was really concerned and I am very happy that we are moving on now, ”said board member Vickie Jackson.

After the meeting, Grant spoke to The Chronicle and said the Lewis County Auditor's Office had confirmed to her that the updated count on Wednesday was from the day of voters whose ballots were either stamped or placed in county-certified drop boxes on election day.

On election night, Grant said supporters had raised hopes that they would make amends, similar to what happened in last August's failed elections, when the gap narrowed closer to the passage but the opponents were not entirely overcome. At least that hope seems to have paid off, and they feel more confident that the levy has expired.

"It's a big step forward for us," said Grant.

If passed, the Centralia levy will collect $ 1.50 per $ 1,000 of estimated value starting in 2022. Overall, the school district will collect $ 9.1 million in survey years 2022 and 2023.

The district has been operating without a replacement levy since December 2020, and layoffs were announced last summer.

The levy is intended to fund services such as support staff, consultants, athletics, technology, special education, and other programs.

So far, 5,541 ballots have been counted in the elections, 2,805 of them for the measure and 2,736 against.

Ballot papers were only sent to registered voters living within the boundaries of the Centralia School District. The turnout is currently 37.40% of registered voters.

The county line includes fewer than 300 voters living in Thurston County. The country-specific election results were published on election night, but have since been removed from the websites of both district auditors.

At least 110 ballots were received from Thurston County and 5,494 from Lewis County, according to the Secretary of State's website.

"We have long-term work to better connect with them," Grant said of Thurston County's voters, who sometimes choose southern counties over Centralia.

In February 2020, voters denied a tax rate of $ 2.50 per $ 1,000 at an estimated 69% with no vote. Then in August, voters turned down another measure, this time for $ 2.00 per $ 1,000, with 50.38% of voters opposed.

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