01:45 PM PST on Wednesday, February 4, 2004

From KING Staff Reports

SEATTLE – Voters in 143 school districts in Washington voted Tuesday on maintenance and operation levies worth more than $1.4 billion.

Local districts rely heavily on property tax levies to supplement the money allocated by the Legislature. The levies must pass by a super majority – 60 percent or more.

Seattle School District

Seattle students and their parents were watching returns of the two school levies put before voters. Combined, the levies asked for more than $500 million for both operating and capital costs.

Early numbers had many optimistic. Both levies were passing easily as of Tuesday evening.

KING Voters in 143 school districts in Washington voted Tuesday on maintenance and operation levies.

“These are early returns, but it really warms my heart to hear the numbers,” said Raj Majha, Seattle School District superintendent.

The first levy asked voters for $338 million for operations, such as salaries for counselors and special education instructors.

The $178 million capital levy would pay for nearly 700 projects ranging from plumbing repairs to upgrading libraries.

“This is excellent for our schools. Kids are going to benefit. Staff is going to benefit. We were all worried that if the levy didn't pass we were going to have to operate on the bare minimum. We were facing losing teachers,” said Cothroon McMillan, High Point Elementary School principal.

Tuesday night’s results will impact school funding for several years.

“I thank those people. They really understand us kids and think about us a lot,” said Mei Hayakawai.

Other school districts

King County voters in seven school districts – Auburn, Federal Way, Fife, Mercer Island, Renton, Riverview and Seattle – went to the polls to decide on $784.7 million in tax support for local schools, including operations, transportation, technology and capital-projects levies.

Final results were not in, but as of Tuesday evening, all Auburn, Riverview and Federal Way levies were passing.

The levies in Renton, La Conner, Olympia, Aberdeen, Walla Walla also were passing.

But the levies in Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley, Fife, Clover Park, Shelton, and Yakima were failing.

And in Puyallup, a bond issue to build new schools seemed to be losing with 58 percent.