Voters to decide on school levies Tuesday

Tuesday is Election Day for voters in five Clark County school districts.

The Vancouver, Battle Ground, Camas, Ridgefield and La Center school districts are all seeking multiyear maintenance and operations levies to replace expiring levies. Vancouver voters are also deciding on the district’s first-ever technology levy; Camas voters will decide on a replacement technology levy.

La Center voters will decide on a six-year capital fund levy. In order to pass, voters must also approve the M&O levy.

Voters in the county’s largest school district, Evergreen, approved a multiyear school levy last year.

School districts use the proceeds from M&O levies to pay for a host of programs not funded by the state, including extra teachers and staff, and extracurricular programs such as athletics and student field trips.

All of the ballot measures require a simple majority approval.

As of Friday, the Clark County Elections Office had received 41,423 ballots of 150,798 sent to voters last month. That’s a return rate of 27.5 percent.

Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday in order to be valid, or dropped at one of the county’s authorized drop locations before 8 p.m. on Election Day. One of those locations is a drop box located in the middle of 14th Street between Franklin and Esther streets, near the Clark County Courthouse. It is accessible 24 hours a day.

Election results should be available about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday and will be posted on The Columbian’s website, as well as the county’s elections site.

The phone number of the elections office is 360-397-2345, or e-mail: elections@clark.wa.gov.