As of Thursday Feb 7th nearly 24% of voters have cast their ballot in the special school elections and ballots are due February 11th. (Click here for drop box locations.) In the last election where all school districts were on the ballot for special levies a total of 36.9% of the registered voters participated.

The seven county school districts, in total, are asking for a total of 86 million dollars in replacement and 1.3 million in new technology dollars. 62 million or 72% of the funding would go to Ferndale and Bellingham School districts with the other 28% going to the other 5 districts in the county. To see the ballot amount for your district click here.

Here is a letter to the editor that explains what most districts are asking for here in Whatcom County. This is from Bill Chambers chair of the Meridian Citizens for Education committee:

“As a parent whose children have benefited greatly from the education provided at Meridian High School, I am respectfully asking everyone in the Meridian School District to vote “Yes” on the 2 levy proposals which will be on the ballot this February 11.  The EP&O (Educational Programs & Operations) Levy will replace the existing level of funding which was passed in 2015 and will expire at the end of this year.  The Tech Levy is new and will provide money, which together with other district funding, will”(read more)