Two Clark County school districts are returning to voters April 22 to seek approval for levies that failed in February.
Hockinson’s 21-year, $87 million bond received 46.92 percent approval Feb. 11, short of the 60 percent supermajority required to pass. The district revised its request and now is seeking a six-year, $12.735 million school safety and security capital levy.
Battle Ground is returning to voters with the same four-year, $166.3 million levy that failed in February by 60 votes.
Ballots will be mailed today. The last day to submit new voter registrations or updates online or by mail is 4 p.m. April 14. Voters may still register and update existing registrations after April 14 but must do so in person before 8 p.m. April 22, according to a news release from Clark County Elections.
Levies require a simple majority to pass and are one to six years in length. Bonds are repaid with property taxes over as many as 40 years and must be approved by a 60 percent supermajority.
Hockinson district
Hockinson abandoned its bond request and instead is pursuing a levy. The district would collect about $12.7 million from 2026 to 2031 with no tax rate increase, according to a Hockinson news release. The money would pay for safety improvements, including automatic lockdown capabilities and security upgrades at Hockinson Heights Elementary School.
Hockinson residents’ 2025 tax rate for the existing bond and operations levy is $3.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Next year, if the capital levy is approved, the tax rate would remain $3.05 (66 cents for the capital levy, $1.69 for the operations levy and 70 cents for the bond), according to the district’s website.
The owner of a $500,000 home would pay $1,525 in annual property taxes in 2026, if the capital levy is approved.
Hockinson’s next levy Q&A conversation is 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hockinson Heights Elementary School Library, 20000 N.E. 164th St., Brush Prairie.
Battle Ground district
Battle Ground’s replacement levy would continue to fund student educational programs and operations expenses not funded by the state, including student safety, instructional and support staff, small classes, curriculum and nursing, according to the district’s website.
The four-year levy would replace the existing operations levy, which ends in 2025. The new levy would begin collections in 2026 and raise about $166.3 million with an estimated tax rate of $1.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value each year, 27 cents more than the expiring education and operations rate of $1.68.
If the replacement levy is approved, the owner of a $500,000 home would pay an estimated $1,210 in annual property taxes in 2026, including the existing three-year technology capital levy rate of 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Voters approved the capital levy in February 2024.
Presentations on Battle Ground’s replacement levy are 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s Lewisville campus, 406 N.W. Fifth Ave., Battle Ground, and 5:30 p.m. April 16 at Prairie High School, 11311 N.E. 119th St., Vancouver. Child care will be available. Light refreshments will also be provided. For American Sign Language services, email communication@battlegroundps.org at least five days prior to the presentation.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the Feb. 11 vote tally for the Hockinson bond measure.
