Bond losing, levies winning in Bethel

Both of Bethel School District’s levies appear to be passing, but its bond proposal for building new schools and improving old ones is failing in the special election that ended Tuesday.

All three measures received 51 percent support from the district’s voters. That’s enough for the levies, which need anything over 50 percent to pass. The bond, however, required a 60 percent supermajority.

The results, which come from a 23 percent  turnout of the district’s 64,572 voters, will become official  Feb. 22 when they’re formally validated by Pierce County’s elections department.

Bethel voters turned down a bond for the third time in the past three years. This year’s proposal for was $443 million bond to build a new high school and two new elementary schools and do major makeovers of two existing high schools (Bethel and Challenger) and improvements or expansions of 10 other schools. The projects would alleviate overcrowding and keep up with rising enrollments, according to bond supporters.

The dollar amount of the bond is $200 million higher than one that voters rejected twice in 2016. But according to the district, tax bills for schools would go down because under state law, Bethel’s levy collection rate per $1,000 of assessed value rate is dropping.

One of Bethel’s two levies (educational programs and operations) is for classroom needs and sports, including labor contracts, special education, transportation, substitute teachers, training days for teachers, athletics other and extracurricular activities. The other levy is to pay for learning-related use of technology such as iPads, WiFi, and related equipment and personnel .