I read the results of the school bond measures. I suggest a new yardstick for looking at the value of the bond and levy measures. It is too bad we could not turn down measures if the voter turnout was below a certain percentage of the registered voter population served by that district. Ridgefield asked voters to approve a $107 million bond measure … only 6,513 voters cast their ballots. This equates to $1,643 per vote cast.
Sixty-five hundred voters determining whether a $107 million bond measure should be passed. In Vancouver, where it was a levy, turnout was a total 24,923 votes cast to approve a levy of $31.3 million. This equates to $1,255 per vote cast.
Sadly many of these measures are passed and when the nonvoters see their tax bills go up they are upset. It is truly sad to see turnout be so low for these measures that heavily impact the property tax bills of all residents in the district.
School districts always place these votes in the election they predict will have the lowest voter turnout. There is a reason for that.
