Although it’s too early to declare the Spokane School District’s bond issue a winner, it is clear that it did considerably better than the City of Spokane’s bond issue.

It pulled more votes out of almost every city precinct that the two proposals shared. Sometimes lots more, as the above map of the first night’s vote totals shows.

This is interesting for several reasons.

Voters in nine Spokane area school districts and the city of Spokane have tax measures they are being asked to cast ballots on by Tuesday evening.

Most Spokane city voters have four measures on their ballot. The Spokane School District, which covers much of the city and spills outside its borders in some areas, is asking voters to renew a maintenance and operations levy and approve a $288 million bond issue to pay for the next phase of a school renovation program. The city has an $18.5 million bond issue to handle several criminal justice projects, including a new evidence warehouse, animal control facilities and municipal courts.

The Cheney, Deer Park, Liberty, Mead, Medical Lake, Nine Mile Falls and Riverside school districts also have levy renewals. Reardan-Edwall has a capital projects levy, and the town of Rosalia has a park and recreation levy.

Ballots that are mailed must be postmarked by Tuesday. They can also be deposited, minus a stamp, in a drop box set up by the County Elections office at most public libraries.

Drop box locations are inside the blog:

The people supporting the ballot measures for the Spokane School District seem to be intent on proving that the community needs to be spending more money on education. It seems they would not last long on that FOX-TV game show, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”

They keep making the mistakes that would earn students in the District 81 classrooms a failing grade.

Campaign yard signs for Spokane School proposed ballot measures say one way the public can “Vote Yes for Kids” on March 10 is to renew a bond issue.

But that’s not quite accurate, even a co-chairwoman of the bond issue campaign concedes. Spokane School District 81 is not renewing  bonds, it’s selling new ones, totaling $288 million, and repaying the new bonds over 20 years.

“It’s not a word choice with an eye on the financial market,” Barb Chamberlain of Citizens for Spokane Schools said.