Nine Mile Falls School District capital levy fails

April 28, 2026 Updated Tue., April 28, 2026 at 9:59 p.m.

Lakeside High School, 5909 state Route 291, in Nine Mile Falls. (Jonathan Brunt/The Spokesman-Review)

By Elena Perry elenap@spokesman.com (509) 459-5270

Voters in the Nine Mile Falls School District have rejected a $6.2 million capital levy.

Tuesday night’s vote count showed the levy with 45.2% support, well below the simple majority needed to pass. More ballots will be counted in the coming days, but votes from supporters are unlikely to make up that large of a gap.

Voters in both Spokane and Stevens counties were rejecting the levy.

Property taxes generated under the levy would have paid for projects at Lakeside High School, including a new roof, track resurfacing, a pair of boilers and an updated camera system.

The levy would have taxed property owners at an estimated rate of 58 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value. Considering other taxes Nine Mile property owners are paying to schools, passage of the levy would have brought the district’s tax rate to an estimated $2.90 per $1,000 in 2027. Property owners are paying schools at a rate of $2.65, with 38 cents of that set to expire in 2027.

The district likely will consider asking voters for smaller levy in the future, Nine Mile Falls Superintendent Jeff Baerwald told The Spokesman-Review earlier this month when asked what the district would do if Tuesday’s vote failed. A cheaper levy would pay for a smaller list of projects at the high school.

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