Asking for voters for more money in a recession is a difficult task. The government entities that made that request last week probably didn’t know how bad the economy was going to look by election day, so most of them had to be at least relieved with the result.

Most, but not all. The City of Spokane’s request for an $18.5 million bond issue was pretty soundly thumped on Tuesday, while school districts were passing levies and the Spokane School District – which shares most of the same voters as the city – floated its bond.

An outside observer might assume that the bigger of the two bond issues was the one that crashed and burned. Not so; the school bond issue, at $288 million, is about 15 times bigger.

The Spokane School District bond issue received strong support all over the city. Even in parts of the city where it didn’t receive the required super majority, voters in many precincts gave it a simple majority.

Note that some of the strongest support comes in areas where the bond will rebuild or rehab schools. On the South Side, the precincts around Ferris High School and Jefferson and Hutton elementary schools have big majorities.