Voters across Oregon were asked to approve taxes to help local schools at a time when districts throughout the region are facing substantial budget shortfalls.
According to initial returns from last night’s election, Oregonians, in many cases, said “no,” particularly when it came to funding new and improved buildings.
A dozen school districts and community colleges were pushing for funding through either a levy or bond.
An easy way to remember the difference between the two types of funding measures, experts often say, is that “bonds are for buildings, and levies are for learning.” In other words, bond money has to be used to build, repair or renovate physical structures, while levies are used to pay for staffing and other ongoing operations.
Voters throughout the Willamette Valley, as well as pockets in Central, Southern and Eastern Oregon, voted on these measures on their November ballots. The majority rejected added taxes.
Six school funding ballot measures appear to have failed, and four have passed, according to initial returns. Two are still too close to call.
A worker places a ballot into the box at a drop-off location in downtown Salem, Ore., on Nov. 5, 2024.
Natalie Pate / OPB
The results, updated on the Secretary of State’s website Wednesday morning, were clear for most races.
Among the 12 school funding measures on the ballot, returns show voters were more likely to approve a levy for day-to-day operations than they were to approve bonds to build, renovate or repair school facilities.
Tigard-Tualatin’s levy renewal to “retain TTSD teachers and preserve classroom programs” passed easily, with more than 71% of voters in favor.
A similar result came for Falls City schools, where more than 63% of voters approved a five-year levy meant to support the district’s music, sports and extracurricular programs and FACES, a program for children in all grades that helps in math and literacy development.
In Central Oregon, the Redmond School District seems to have more narrowly passed its bond renewal measure meant to increase safety measures, repair schools and expand vocational training opportunities, with about 52% voting in favor.
And the Columbia Gorge Community College bond measure in Wasco and Hood River counties passed with similar results, with roughly 53% in favor.
Related: School districts throughout Oregon, Southwest Washington face significant budget cuts this spring
Clackamas Community College’s $120 million bond renewal measure was too close to call, down by less than 500 votes, according to results updated Wednesday morning.
The Oregon City School District also remains close based on the latest reported vote totals. District officials want to update the six elementary schools, which average 62 years old and have never been updated, according to the Oregon School Boards Association. As of Wednesday morning, the proposed bond measure was losing with just shy of 51% of the votes opposed — a difference of fewer than 300 votes.
For the six bond measures that didn’t pass, OSBA officials say districts with pressing facility needs — with Oregon schools averaging more than 40 years old — will have to “go back to the drawing board or hope for a legislative lifeline.”
The Oregon Department of Education has limited funding streams for school facilities, including a matching program for districts that pass their own bonds and a separate grant program for schools doing seismic upgrades.
Education advocates, including OSBA, plan to talk with legislators during the 2025 session to find other ways to help schools address their facilities needs, according to OSBA.
Parkrose’s levy to “maintain teachers and classroom support” appears to have failed, with nearly 53% voting against it.
Chemeketa Community College sought a bond measure to help upgrade and enhance career technical education programs, technology, facilities and safety. It failed, with 58% of voters rejecting it.
Also in the mid-Willamette Valley, about 57% of voters rejected the Central School District bond measure that was meant, in part, to help address overcrowding.
FILE - The Rogue Community College campus in Medford on March 1, 2024.
Erik Neumann / JPR
Voters in Southern Oregon soundly rejected both education measures on their ballots — with 60% voting against Rogue Community College’s bond measure and nearly 74% rejecting Three Rivers School District’s bond.
And in Eastern Oregon, about 54% of voters rejected the Pine Eagle School District’s bond measure.
To view the results across Oregon, go to results.oregonvotes.gov.