Bainbridge Island School District officials were full of gratitude following early results from Tuesday’s Special Election that suggested islanders are in favor of new school buildings.
Proposition 1, an $81.2 million bond measure for the replacement of Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary and the Bainbridge High’s 100 Building, was ahead in the first vote count with a 62.2 percent “yes” vote, and 37.8 percent voting “no.”
Prop. 1 needs 60 percent approval to pass, and the vote tally will be updated again by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“We are thrilled with the results that voters turned out in the numbers that they did and that they turned out so positively,” said Bainbridge School Board President Mev Hoberg.
“We feel like it can only go up from here,” she said.
The initial vote count was 4,856 in favor of Prop. 1, and 2,949 against.
“Tonight is obviously an opportunity for us to be grateful for our community and the work they are doing for our children,” said Tamela VanWinkle, the district’s Facilities, Operations & Capital Projects director. “We are celebrating our community and their passion for our kids.”
VanWinkle said the question of next steps was “a bit premature,” but that, given the district’s extensive planning – spanning “years and years” – she expected talk about that path would come very soon.
Rod Stevens, the island resident who authored the measure’s “vote no” statement in the county’s voters pamphlet, said he thought voters gave the school district the benefit of the doubt in this election.
“I think it’s going to take a while to educate the public that we need to look more closely at these bond measures,” Stevens said.
“The big surprise to me is that they didn’t talk about the big picture,” he added, referring to the two schools – Ordway and Commodore Options – which were also designated as needing replacement according to the district’s updated 2005 master plan.
“It’s in their plan there,” he said. “They laid out the schedule. I don’t think they want people to talk about them.”
Back in 2005, six buildings were identified in the Bainbridge Island School District’s master plan to be scheduled for replacement or repair over the next 15 years: the BHS 200 Building, the BHS 100 Building, Captain John Wilkes Elementary, Blakely, Ordway Elementary and the Commodore Options School.
The district took care of the BHS 200 Building in 2006, a new Wilkes followed in 2012, and, after a master plan update facilitated by Mahlum Architects this past spring, the BHS 100 Building and Blakely were up to bat, though Mahlum confirmed that the other two schools are also in need of replacement, albeit less urgently.
School board directors had considered several options for the bond before approving the $81.2 million figure.
Opponents had centered on the bond’s hefty price tag.
Some claimed that the proposal was more expensive than it needed to be, especially when the cost per seat at Blakely Elementary was considered.
Proponents, meanwhile, said the current buildings were outdated and in critical need of replacement.
