Kent School District levy passing after initially failing | Update

The Kent School District’s $97.8 million three-year Capital Projects and Technology Replacement Levy is passing as more ballots are counted after initial results showed the measure failing.

The measure is receiving 50.43% (35,337) yes votes and 49.57% (34,735) no votes, according to King County Elections results released Tuesday, Nov. 12. The lead is at 602 votes and was at 519 votes on Nov. 11.

After election night results, voters were defeating the levy with 51.34% (25,235) no votes and 48.66% (23,913) yes votes, a difference of 1,322 votes.

About 2,500 votes remained to be counted and just more than 1,100 ballots have active signature challenges for the Kent School District, according to a Tuesday, Nov. 12 email from King County Elections spokesperson Halei Watkins.

“We will keep adding to the counts until we certify the election on Nov. 26, and will continue to update results on weekdays at about 4 p.m. until then,” Watkins said.

King County Elections continues to receive on-time ballots through the mail – both with on-time postmarks of Election Day or before and from other counties from those who dropped them in a drop box elsewhere in the state, Watkins said.

“That is all to say that it’s a still a moving target at this point in the election,” Watkins said.

Results released each weekday by King County Elections showed the yes votes gaining ground as more ballots were counted. The yes votes took the lead Nov. 8 with a 208-vote margin.

In November 2023, the district saw a similar rally for its replacement levy which trailed after the first two days but then passed. A technology levy also was on that ballot but failed.

If the levy is approved, about $73.3 million would go to capital projects and $24.4 million to technology that district staff claims are critical and essential needs. The measure is about half of the proposed $190.2 million levy that voters turned down in April. Voters also rejected the levy in November 2023.

If the levy is approved, property tax rates for the measure would be $0.72 (72 cents) per $1,000 assessed property value in 2025; $0.70 in 2026; and $0.68 in 2027, according to district documents. The measure would bring in about $32 million per year. Combined with the voter-approved district operational levy in November 2023, the property tax rate would be $2.92 in 2025, costing the owner of a $600,000 home about $1,751 per year in 2025 compared to $2,120 in 2023 with a rate of $3.53 per $1,000 assessed value.

The proposed levy would fund the following:

• Student safety and health improvements will include upgrades to building fire alarm systems and the purchase and installation of boilers. Other projects include roof and building side improvements; replacing the bus transportation fueling station and an emergency generator to the central kitchen to prevent spoiling of food during power outages.

• New roofs at six schools will cost about $22.9 million, according to district documents. A bus fueling center will cost $5.6 million. New boilers at six schools and the central kitchen will cost $8.6 million.

• The district plans to install synthetic turf fields at Kentridge High School and Mill Creek Middle School, at a cost of $18 million, because rain often makes the fields unusable.

Leslie Hamada, chair of Citizens for Kent Schools, which worked to get the levy passed, said she’s confident the lead will hold up.

“A big thank you to the Kent School District voting community for passing our Capital Projects and Technology Replacement Levy,” said Hamada, a former Kent School Board member, in a Nov. 12 email. “The committee worked hard to value community input in what went into the levy and the committee worked hard to pass this levy. We value our constituents. We hope going forward we can work together to grow the trust and respect of all. Our kids deserve the best and must remain our highest priority.”