After missing approval by just 1.57 percent in the February special election, proponents of the Cheney School District's $44.88 million expansion and renovation bond believed two things would lead to the measure's passage, one of which was increasing voter turnout.
They got their wish in the April 28 special election, but not the desired outcome. Voter participation increased from 37.73 to 40.53 percent, but the bond again fell short of the 60 percent needed for approval, receiving 55.55 percent yes vote.
The decline in support might be traceable to the additional votes the measure received. According to information from the Spokane County Elections Department website, 467 more voters cast ballots in April than in February, but of those, just 69 voted for approval.
The decline in support for the measure was felt in virtually all of the district's 26 precincts on the West Plains. In February, five precincts voted against the bond. In April, eight voted to reject, with precincts 6014 east of Airway Heights, 6400 in west Airway Heights and 6027 north/northwest of Cheney and including Four Lakes all switching to no.
Cheney voters cast 169 more ballots in April, with 139 voting to reject the bond, leading to a decline in support in all five precincts. In several precincts, that decline was pronounced.
In the February election, none of the five were under 60 percent support, the lowest being 6701 in central south and east of Eastern Washington University the lowest at 63.06 percent. Two precincts north of Elm Street, 6703 and 6704, both topped 70 percent, with 6704 the highest in the city at 73.95.
In the April ballot, only 6704 remained above 70 percent at 70.95. Precinct 6703 dropped to just over 65 percent support, precincts 6702 and 6701 declined to just over 60 percent while 6700, the neighborhoods surrounding Salnave Park, dipped under supermajority support at 59.24 percent.
Overall support declined in Cheney from almost 69 percent in February to just below 64 percent in April. Overall turnout increased to just over 40 percent from 36.18 percent in February, with 1,732 of 4,320 active voters returning ballots.
Results were similar in other areas of concentrated populations in the district. In Airway Heights, overall support for the bond declined from 57.39 percent to 54.32 percent, although voter turnout also increased by over 4.5 percentage points to 28.81 percent.
Support also declined among the five precincts making up the Windsor/Marshal area, dropping to 57.39 percent from just over 60 percent in February. Turnout also increased and actually exceeded the district-wide average at 45 percent, with two precincts, 6029 and 6030, straddling Cheney-Spokane Road topping 53 and 51 percent.
There was a bright spot in this area as voters in precinct 6030, around the Fairways development and Snowdon, Windsor elementary schools and Westwood Middle School, approved the bond by almost 3 more percentage points than in February, up from 64.35 to 67.12 percent. Of the 110 additional ballots cast in these five precincts, 21 voted to approve and 17 of those came from 6030.
No decision has been made by the Cheney School Board on the fate of the current bond proposal. In a letter posted on the district's website May 4, school board president Henry Browne said they had hoped to use the proceeds from the bond sales to deal with enrollment and overcrowding issues at the high school.
"However, we respect the voters' wishes and will work with our staff and community to find ways to address our facility challenges," Browne wrote.
Associate Superintendent Sean Dotson said the district hasn't had a chance to do its own analysis of the April bond results other than look at some precinct data. The district has ordered a Matchback report from the county Elections Department in order to study voter trends, he added.
Matchback reports provide information such as who voted, where the voter lives and when they returned their ballot. The school district ordered a Matchback report for the February special election.
Dotson said they also haven't had the opportunity to square the April results with the results of a survey the district conducted on its website after the February election to determine if the bond should be re-run. Of the 577 respondents completing the survey, 78 percent urged the board to re-run the bond, although the questions posed asked respondents whether or not they supported aspects of the bond such as expansion of classrooms, a new performing arts complex, new cafeteria/commons area, added gym space and safety renovations.
All of these received overwhelming support from respondents. Now, the district's task is to find out more about what voters want.
"We really are very thankful for the support of our community," Dotson said. "Our goal is to get community feedback, to get ideas from supporters, and from those who don't agree."
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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