ARLINGTON — As ballots from last Tuesday’s special election have slowed to a trickle, it appears the Arlington School District bond measure will again fail to meet the 60 percent approval threshold required by state law.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, the proposal had received 52.6 percent voter approval with 4,014 for and 3,624 against.
The election results won’t be officially certified until Friday, but county elections manager Garth Fell said he doesn’t anticipate the outcome changing based on additional ballots coming in over the next few days.
The district isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.
“We’re definitely holding out hope,” communications director Gary Sabol said.
This is the district’s third attempt to pass a bond to pay for school construction and better security.
The district’s proposed measure sought up to $96 million.
After two failed attempts at passing bonds last year, school officials shaved $11.5 million and several projects off the earlier proposal of $107.5 million.
The February and November 2018 packages reached 55 and 52 percent approval.
The new measure aimed to allow the district to tear down the existing Post Middle School and replace it with a $75 million building. It would have also funded about $10 million in additions to Arlington High School and improved security throughout the district.
Despite recent snow storms, Sabol said voter turnout was on par with special elections in previous years at 22.38 percent.
Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439; jgsanders@heraldnet.com.
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