Three other proposals pass: Colfax voters narrowly approve reduced levy

Colfax School District’s second chance levy gained approval from voters after initial returns Tuesday night.

The 1,226 ballots counted in the initial returns showed 714 “yes” and 512 “no” for a 58 percent pass rate. That number is a reversal from the 43 percent “yes” vote on the district’s first-round proposal which failed Feb. 9.

The 58 percent approval rate, though, prompted concern among levy proponents about the level of community support.

The Colfax school approval rate was the lowest of four measures which all received voters approval in the Tuesday vote.

“I’m extremely appreciative at the support from our community for our kids,” said Supt. Michal Morgan. “But the reality is, to improve our education, to improve our community, we need to know from the district level what people want to see.”

The state legislature in 2007 lowered the required approval rate for school levy votes to a simple majority from the long-standing 60 percent. Under the old rule, Tuesday night’s results would have been defeated.

“Throughout my entire 40 years it was always 60 percent,” said Duane Gottschalk, former Colfax principal. “It certainly does throw up some markers that we’re still not where we want to be. But it passed. We’ll take it.”

Two years ago the school’s levy proposal passed with 63 percent.

Gottschalk and Ed Morgan, former Palouse superintendent, and Kirby Dailey were instrumental members in the Citizens for Quality Schools group that spent much of the past two months rallying community support for the second levy proposal.

“I’m thrilled we’ve got the finances available,” said Dailey. “But I’m disappointed in the margin. I think the message is still pretty clear that we’ve got our work cut out for us to win the confidence of the community back.”

The February levy of $1.3 million included a $325,000 insurance policy to guard against potential losses in state funding. The school levy defeat was the first for Colfax in 40 years.

The district dropped its request to $950,000 for 2011 and $970,000 for 2012 for Tuesday’s vote. The cutback was made after school directors learned the state funding would remain in place.

Dailey, Gottschalk and Ed Morgan expressed concern about the low voter turnout. Tuesday’s count of 1,226 votes is less than half the nearly 2,500 registered Colfax voters who received ballots.

“You can almost count a non-vote as a ‘no’ vote,” said Gottschalk.

“In a town like Colfax, a great town like Colfax, there just has to be a way to get everybody involved,” said Ed Morgan.

Elections Supervisor Debbie Hooper estimated another 160 ballots were on hand from Tuesday’s returns. Also ballots dropped in the mail Tuesday will be added to the count. Fifteen ballots had been sidelined for the canvas board review with questionable or missing signatures.

The final Feb. 9 vote count was 1,392.

Citizens at a meeting following the levy failure expressed two common goals: pass a levy for the next two years and address a lack of trust and communication between the town and school leaders.

“There was definitely assurance given then that those issues would be taken care of after the election,” said Ed Morgan.

Supt. Morgan said he needs to hear more from the community on what issues need resolution. To fix perceived problems, he said, school leaders need to hear from the public what those problems are.

“The reality is we as a school don’t fully understand what people really want to know,” said Morgan. “And to fix that, we need communication. Whether that’s through the board meetings or a Facebook page.”

“This was a wake-up call,” Dailey said. “This is a great opportunity. People are thinking about it right now. Now is the time to effectively invite the community in for a conversation.”

Gottschalk called on the school board to actively recruit more citizen participation at its bi-monthly meetings. He recalled well-attended school board meetings in his time as a school administrator, and said they were vital to engaging the public in decisions.

Dailey plans to unveil to the school board at its next meeting May 10 a plan to improve community participation in school governance.

Voters also approved the three other measures on the April 27 ballot.

Garfield’s $55,000 street levy garnered 64 percent approval. Garfield Cemetery District’s $25,000 maintenance levy got 71 percent approval. Colfax Cemetery District’s $75,000 maintenance levy received 67 percent approval.