The South Kitsap School District Board of Directors have agreed to give the public, and themselves, a break.
The board will not run a reconstituted version of the district’s failed $163.2 million capital facilities bond this spring. Instead, school board president Patty Henderson announced today, another bond election will wait until the general election in November.
Almost immediately after results of the election were posted March 13 — showing the measure had fallen about eight percentage points short of the required 60 percent super majority — some bond supporters pushed for running the measure again at the earliest possible opportunity in May. But after a work study meeting Wednesday, attended by about 40 community members, the board concluded that the voters they hope to reach would not be receptive to seeing the measure again so soon. In addition, board and community members who worked toward passing the bond over the past months said they are, in a word, pooped.
“We need to take a little breather,” said Henderson. “We don’t feel the momentum is there at this point. And the voters spoke pretty loudly.”
Read the compete story later today at the Kitsap Sun’s Web site.

I received a lengthy phone message from a caller who revealed “the real reason the South Kitsap levy (sic) didn’t pass.”

At the end of the message, he said, “I know your paper’s liberal, so you’re not going to print nothing, but now you know the rest of the story, like Paul Harvey. Thank you.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t leave his name. So, no, we can’t use his comments in articles on the Web or in print, because of the Kitsap Sun’s policy on anonymous sources. However, the rules of blogging being a tad more liberal (no play on the caller’s words intended), I’ll relay the gist of his message below, as I think he expresses a point of view we’re not going to hear from any organized (or at least semi-formal) opposition to the bond.

I present Mr. Voice of South Kitsap:

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Supporters of South Kitsap School District’s proposed $163.2 million bond were stunned into silence by preliminary results showing 48.22 percent of voters against the measure. The number voting “yes” was 51.48; the bond needed 60 percent to pass.
Several in the group said they’d like to see the bond run again at the soonest opportunity.

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If early ballot returns are any indication, voter turnout on South Kitsap School District’s $163.2 million bond proposal will be unusually high.
The bond issue will be decided Tuesday in the all-mail election, and ballots must be postmarked by that date to be counted.
As of Tuesday the auditor’s office had received nearly 36 percent of the 36,810 ballots mailed out in February. Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn estimates 50 to 55 percent of registered voters will weigh in on the proposal to build a second high school, replace South Colby Elementary and fund major upgrades and maintenance at all schools. That number is significant for a single issue ballot and indicates the high level of community interest in the measure, Flynn said.

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South Kitsap voters will be asked to decide March 13 on a proposed $163.2 million school bond to build a second high school, replace the aging South Colby Elementary and pay for major repairs and upgrades to all existing schools. Ballots in the all-mail election must be postmarked by that date.
The amount requested in the bond is by far the largest ever asked of voters in the county and would be the largest school bond passed if approved.

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The Port Orchard City Council on Monday endorsed the South Kitsap School District’s bond despite reservations on the part of two council members.
“I’m not a woman who gives money away easily,” said Rita Dilenno, “but we have to keep the house in order.”

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