Staff Writer

BURLINGTON — For the third time in nearly as many years, voters in the Burlington-Edison School District have rejected a measure to pay for school construction and improvements.

School officials appeared shaken, some near tears, as they absorbed the news shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday outside of the Skagit County auditor’s office.

Only 47 percent of voters approved the $39.5 million measure to 53 percent against. In Washington state, 60 percent of voters must approve a construction bond request for it to pass.

“We still have a few more days,” for mail-in ballots to arrive, said Superintendent Laurel Browning. “Statistically right now, it looks like we are not passing.”

The measure w a s rejected by 2,285 votes to 1,993 in favor. While more than 930 ballots remain uncounted, even if every ballot returned is cast in favor of the issue, it will fail.

Browning said dozens of people had worked on the campaign in the past few months, many from the B-E Citizens for Schools group. Members of the committee could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

“I think the economic times had an impact,” Browning said. “We did everything we could do to communicate our needs.”

Nearly 30 district employees and volunteers staged a last-minute push Sunday, calling 4,000 parents who had not yet mailed in their ballots, Superintendent Laurel Browning said Monday. School Board President Liza Bott said an independent group, B-E Citizens for Schools, organized the effort.

The $39.5 million measure was considered by district officials to be a bare bones version of earlier attempts. It was nearly half of the $74 million bond issue rejected in 2006 and still far less than the $59.7 million measure defeated in 2007.

“We responded to those concerns that were expressed by (the community about) the previous bonds,” said School Board President Liza Bott. “Perhaps this is a reflection of the tough economic times.”

Bott said to make up for the loss, the district will have to continue to add portables to the high school and the high school will continue to have safety issues.

“We don’t have excess funds in the operating budget to be able to take care of these things,” Bott said.

The measure would have paid for new buildings at the high school and West View Elementary School, as well as property for future school facilities.

The Skagit County Auditor’s office mailed out ballots to 11,478 registered voters, said Margaret Enders, an elections administrator for the county. While the ballots have been coming into the office at a steady pace, Enders said the largest influx of votes is usually on Election Day.

Most of those are dropped off at county drop boxes, but a significant amount tend to come in the mail a few days after, Enders said. That means the final vote count might not be known for several days. The election is required to be certified to the Secretary of State by March 25.

To validate the election, at least 3,988 voters must have participated in the election, Youngquist said. State law states that school bond issue elections must have at least a 40-percent participation rate, compared to the last general election. As of 8 p.m. the county has received 4,278 ballots. To approve a bond issue, 60 percent of voters must vote for it.

Despite the loss, Bott thanked those who supported the district’s effort.

“We appreciate the folks who understood the needs and could support them with a yes vote,” she said.