CLALLAM BAY — The apparent passage of Cape Flattery School District’s four-year, $375,000 maintenance-and-operations levy will allow the district to continue educating students without disruption, Superintendent Kandy Ritter said Wednesday.
“If the levy didn’t pass, we would see a reduction in programs,” Ritter said.
Maintenance-and-operation levies cover instructional supplies and non-instructional support services, such as building maintenance, textbooks, classroom and office supplies, technology purchases and updates, a school nurse, school bus transportation, library staff and resources, student counseling services and the food program.
The district’s backup plan in case voters didn’t approve the levy would reduce student access to programs, such as cutting nurse visits from three days to one per week, Ritter said.
“But we’ve never not passed a levy,” she said.
In initial returns Tuesday night, 220 votes, or 73 percent, approved the levy while 81 votes, or 27 percent, opposed it.
By Tuesday, 301 of the 1,140 ballots mailed to registered voters had been returned to the Clallam County Auditor’s Office — a 26 percent turnout.
An additional 49 ballots were received Wednesday and will be included in the Friday afternoon count, which is expected to be finished by 4:30 p.m., Auditor Patty Rosand said.
The levy is a $25,000 increase from the 2012-14 maintenance-and-operations levy of $350,000, which expires in December.
Property owners in the district will be taxed an estimated $2.99 per $1,000 valuation from 2014-15 through 2017-18.
The levy increase covers the increased costs to the district, Ritter said.
The district includes Clallam Bay School, Neah Bay Junior-Senior High, and Neah Bay Elementary schools.
The schools serve Neah Bay, Clallam Bay and the Sekiu area.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.