Monroe school bond expected to pass

Preliminary election results indicate that the Monroe School District school bond measure, Proposition No. 1, is passing with a 61.17 percent approval rate. The results were posted by the Snohomish County Auditor's office at shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28. The next update is scheduled for-á5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.

"Tonight we have some very encouraging returns,GÇ¥ said Monroe School District Director of Communications Rosemary O'Neil. "Our fingers are still crossed for our kids, because they are the ones that are truly going to benefit from all of these improvements GÇô even the young ones that haven't come to school yet are going to benefit from all of this.GÇ¥

The 2015 bond measure would help accomplish numerous capital facilities projects district-wide, with no estimated bond tax-rate increase. Large scale construction projects would occur at Park Place Middle School, Hidden River Middle School, Salem Woods Elementary and Frank Wagner Elementary, with smaller projects slated to take place across the district.

Property owners currently pay $1.48 per $1,000 of assessed property value, an amount that is not expected to increase should the bond measure pass. If approved, a renewal of the existing $1.48 rate could generate $110.9 million, also enabling the district to qualify for approximately $21.3 million in state construction assistance. An additional $640,000 in developer-paid mitigation fees are anticipated, which are collected by the City of Monroe when new homes are built.

School bond measures require a 60-percent majority to pass.

"61 percent is awesome,GÇ¥ O'Neil said. "The effort our community has put forth has been tremendous and we're very hopeful.GÇ¥