Issaquah School Bond: How You Can Get the Vote Out

King County mailed ballots yesterday for the April 17 special election, which includes the Issaquah School District bond issue.

Proposition 1 proposes for the district. The new bond package ($219 million spread over eight years) is structured to be about half as much as the bond debt retiring in 2012. The retiring bond debt willdrop the tax rate from $4.85 to $4.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value; approval of the new bond willresult in an estimated $4.42 tax rate. The full text of the measure can be read at the Volunteers for Issaquah Schools website.

If you're not registered yet

For those who live in the district but missed the registration and address update online or mail-in deadline, there is still time to get registered. According to King County:

• If you are not currently registered in Washington state, you can register in person at the King County Elections Office, at 919 SW Grady Way
  Renton, or the King County Voter Registration Annex in Seattle until the Monday one week before Election Day, in this case April 9. (RCW 29A.08.140)
• If you are registered to vote but miss the deadline to update your address, you can still vote. Contact the King County Elections Office to obtain a ballot.

Supermajority required

Because of state laws, a school Bond requires a supermajority—or 61 percent—"yes" votes to pass. Volunteers for Issaquah Schools estimates that about 40 percent of 55,000 registered voters will vote based on past participation, which would mean it would take 13,434 votes to pass.

Support for the Bond

A number of public and business entities have expressed support for the bond, including the . This week, Matt Bott, the CEO of the , published a letter urging support of the bond issue.

Upcoming school bond issues in other nearby communities, such as Mercer Island, have been fraught with public skepticism. We encourage you to share your opinions on the upcoming ISD school bond. We welcome comments, letters to the editor, and guest opinion pieces. Just email us at sammamishpatch@gmail.com.