Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Gazette Editor
A total of 15,194 ballots were mailed out Friday by Whitman County elections officials for the Feb. 12 special election. Topping the ballot list is Pullman School District’s request for a 20-year bond issue for $53.5 million.
Of the 15,194 ballots mailed, 12,631 ballots went to voters in the Pullman School District. Voters have until the formal election date, Feb. 12, to get the ballots back in the mail. Ballots with a postmark after the election date are disqualified.
Voters in Lamont, Garfield, Palouse and Colton school districts will also be asked to decide on special levy propositions from their school boards. Lamont, Garfield and Palouse are asking voters’ approval on two-year levy requests which are listed on the ballot as replacement measures.
Pullman’s $53.5 million bond proposal involves $51.5 million for replacing Pullman High School and $2 million for adding classrooms to Franklin Elementary.
The two projects are listed in a single proposal on the ballot, and the $53.5 million request is believed to be the largest ever sought by a local entity in the county.
Pullman’s high school went into service in 1972, and if voters approve the bonding proposal the building will probably be in service for 45 years.
Pullman School District valuation now stands at just more than $1.6 billion. Tax rate for the bond measure figures to be $1.62 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The figure can be expected to vary slightly over the 20-year bonding term depending on how the bonds are issued and the changing valuation of the district, according Dan Hornsfelt, executive director of support services for the school district.
The levy breaks out at $1.57 for the new high school and five cents for the classroom project.
Voters in the Lamont School District will be asked to decide a $135,000 maintenance and operation levy for the 2014 and 2015 tax collection years. The Lamont proposal would have an estimated levy rate of $3.78 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Voters in Palouse will be asked to approve a $450,00 maintenance and operation levy for 2014 and 2015. Estimated rate on the Palouse proposal will be $4.57 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Garfield School District’s request is $235,000 for the 2014 tax year and $240,000 for the 2015 tax year. The levy estimates are $3.77 and $3.85 for the respective years.
Garfield also seeks voters’ approval for a $25,000 levy for each of the two years for capital improvement projects.
Colton school district voters will be asked to decide on a one-year maintenance and operations levy request for $483,895. The one-year levy in 2014 would have an estimated rate of $4.32 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
The town of Rosalia has a $60,000 street fund levy request on the ballot to help with the cost of streetlighting, seal coating and other expenses. Estimated rate on the levy is 62 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Garfield cemetery district seeks voters’ approval on a $25,000 levy request for maintenance and operation of the cemetery. Estimated levy rate is 42 cents per $1,000.
Reader Comments(0)