Voters Had Change Of Heart This Election

After eight or nine years of saying no to school construction bonds, Spokane Valley voters this week shouted out their approval.

Central Valley passed its bond with 74.5 percent support. West Valley won 74.9 percent approval. East Valley’s earned a whopping 75.7 percent yes vote.

Why so high?

Here are a few likely reasons:

After bond failures in 1994, all three districts turned to the voters and asked “What will you support?”

West Valley found in its survey that the addition of 16 new classrooms to existing elementary schools would be a high or medium priority for 80 percent of its constituents.

All three districts pared down their requests.

Voters got a year to cool off. All three districts didn’t ask for bond money in 1995, giving it a rest.

All three districts worked hard to bring more people into their campaigns, figuring that each person represented a yes vote.

East Valley organizer Marilyn Fulton said some committees in that campaign included people from across the district. Other committees were designed to be duplicated at each EV school. “If each school fulfilled their obligation, there would have been something like 1,400 volunteers. That would put you over the top, right there,” Fulton said.

East Valley needed just 1,109 yes votes to pass its bond.

, DataTimes