Unofficial initial results for the Tuesday, Feb. 11, special election show the Yelm Community Schools levy failing.
As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, 2,917 voters in Thurston County, or 45.81%, voted in favor of the educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy while 3,451 voters, or 54.19%, were opposed. In Pierce County, 445 voters, or 36.3%, were in favor of the levy, and 781 voters, or 63.7%, opposed.
If the levy measure fails, YCS can run another ballot measure in April if the school board approves it.
In total, 3,362 voters, or 44.27% across the two counties, chose to approve the levy while 4,232 voters, or 55.73%, voted to oppose, as of the initial tally.
The four-year replacement levy, which would have taken effect in January 2026 if approved, would have filled a gap of the school district’s budget that the state doesn’t cover, including athletics, activities, mental health services and special education, as well as staffing. YCS would have collected a maximum tax rate of $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
If the measure fails, this would mark the third consecutive failure in a special election for the EP&O levy. The levy failed in the Feb. 13, 2024, election, with 2,779 voters, or 52.96%, opposed to the proposition while 2,468, or 47.04%, supported replacing the levy. The school board voted to place the proposition back on the ballot for the April 23 special election, and it failed by a slimmer margin. Official results across both counties showed 3,555 voters, or 48.47%, choosing to approve the levy while 3,780 voters, or 51.53%, opted to oppose.
The school district already has millions more cuts to make in the spring regardless of the Feb. 11 levy results after cutting $10 million in the fall.
To learn more about the levy, check out our levy information article from the Jan. 30 edition at https://www.yelmonline.com/stories/what-voters-should-know-about-the-feb-11-yelm-schools-levy-election,374453?.
Immediately following the initial results of the levy, YCS Superintendent Chris Woods told the Nisqually Valley News that despite the fact there’s still a fair amount of votes to count — it’s a “big gap to overcome.”
“I think part of what we heard is that people are feeling overwhelmed with taxes,” he said. “This is a very challenging time to ask taxpayers to continue to pay taxes, especially with all of the conversations going on at the state level. It’s a really challenging time for people, and I think that was the biggest piece of feedback that we got. People don’t want to pay more taxes. We tried to share this is the one tax that stays in the community. This is the one tax that supports children, but I understand people are feeling pinched right now. It’s difficult for all of us.”
Despite the likely failure, Woods would like to see YCS and community members come together to provide support for students — regardless of the outcome.
“We owe it to our students to give them the very best we can,” Woods said. “If we’re moving forward without the levy, then we’re going to have some more difficult decisions to make.”
Woods knows that challenging times are ahead for YCS, but he’s certain that all aspects of the district will be looked at, including programs and services. The superintendent added that he will soon begin conversations with the Yelm School Board on whether the district will run another levy attempt in April.
“Ultimately, they make that decision. That will be a conversation we will have in the coming weeks to determine whether or not we run it again, or if we wait. I’ll be having that conversation with them very soon,” he said.
Following the third likely failure of a YCS levy, Woods said the district is going to need the community to come together to help YCS support and provide the very best opportunities for its students.
The next step for YCS, Woods said, is to discuss the additional cuts the school district will need to make. Pass or fail, Woods knew tough decisions would arise no matter what.
“Really we were looking at two scenarios. One was additional cuts that might be temporary until levy dollars come in next spring,” Woods said. “The other was cuts that would be indefinite. Now, we’ll have to take a look at those cuts that we wouldn’t necessarily be expecting to come back in the near future. We’re just going to have to look very carefully at what are those things we’re going to be willing to let go of.”
Woods confirmed that there have been discussions about what the next round of cuts within YCS might include. He believes the next budget cuts within the district will be more harmful to students than the initial cuts were in 2024.
“Last year, we tried really hard to keep cuts away from students as best as we could. However, there were some of those cuts, like C-team sports, and some of those electives and arts across the district,” Woods said. “With the additional cuts, we probably won’t be able to keep away from impacting students, just because you can’t avoid that when you’re having to make significant cuts. We’re going to have to take some time to process, and then here this next month we’ll start moving forward with those cuts.”
Woods believes that YCS already addressed some of the concerns that community members might have about a third levy failure when over a dozen levy forums were held publicly at schools within the district.
The superintendent also thanked citizens groups like Yelm Community Schools 1st Coalition and Citizens for Support of Yelm Schools for their efforts in attempting to pass the levy.
“They spent countless hours — whether it was waving signs or spending time sharing information with people, putting together videos, putting together social media campaigns. Our staff across the district put their heart and soul into sharing the message and importance of the levy. I think more than anything, just a big thank you to them,” Woods said. “We have some amazing people in this community, and we got to see these people in action as we tried to share the message about the importance of this levy. I just really appreciate the time and energy that people gave to support our kids. That was pretty special.”
When YCS held its last levy, as of May 2, 2024, 3,054 voters, or 49.51%, were in favor of the levy while 3,115 voters, or 50.49%, opposed. In Pierce County, 501 voters, or 42.97%, were in favor of the proposition, but 665 voters, or 57.03%, opposed it.
