STANWOOD — Having the only issue on Tuesday’s ballot is proving costly for the Stanwood-Camano School District, though district officials say it can’t be helped.
The election bill for Prop. 1 — a measure that asks voters if they want to redistrict their school board representation — is expected to cost between $50,000 and $70,000 in Snohomish County, county election officials said. The district also includes voters in Island County, where election cost estimates were not available.
Ballots were mailed out in mid-February and must be returned by Tuesday.
Former school board director Carole Ruble is among some voters expressing concern about the cost and the timing of the election.
“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Ruble said. “It stinks. That money would be better spent in the classroom.”
Longtime district resident Jennifer Caceres agrees.
“It irks me as a taxpayer,” Caceres said. “It makes me wonder if some of the school board members have moved and this is a way to make sure they can be re-elected.”
The school board wants the go-ahead to change from five director districts with distinct geographical boundaries to four districts defined by new boundaries and a fifth at-large position that could be filled by anyone within the entire school district and elected by all district voters. Under the redrawn boundaries, voters would elect two board members from Camano Island and two from Stanwood. The fifth member could be from either area.
All voters would continue to be able to vote on all five positions within the school district regardless of the director area in which they live, school district spokeswoman Cathy Britt said.
School board president Roger Myers has said that the redistricting proposal is a way to encourage more people to run for office. Serving on the school board is an unpaid position with lots of responsibility, and candidates often run unopposed, school district officials said.
District budget director Gary Platt defended the timing and the cost of the election.
The school board had to commit to an election date last fall when it began the process of writing the proposition and when the economy didn’t look as bad. The board had no idea that other municipalities would not share the cost of the election, Platt said.
The board held several advertised public hearings on the proposition and nobody objected, he said.
One school board director has moved recently but is allowed to continue to serve until the next election, Platt said.
Because candidates for school board must file for election by June 1, the redistricting matter had to be resolved by voters before that deadline.
“You would not want to run the issue in November on same ballot as the school board election. Depending on the outcome of the proposition, you could be electing people to positions that don’t exist,” Platt said.
If the ballot measure passes, school director district boundaries would change by fall. Current school board members would serve out their terms without any changes.
The Stanwood Library, 9701 271st St. NW, will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday for voters who want to drop off their ballots instead of mailing them.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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