Voters say ‘Yes’ to school operations, ‘No’ to construction

Election returns in King County show mixed results for school measures Tuesday with voters approving levies for basic services but rejecting levies for construction and renovation.

In the Federal Way School District, a $106 million operations levy renewal has 56 percent approval, so far.

Voters in the Auburn district and the Renton district are also saying ‘Yes’ to four-year operations levies.

But in the same districts, levies for construction, renovation and other major building maintenance are failing, including measures that would have paid for renovating Federal Way High School and upgrading Auburn High School.

With about half the vote counted, operations levies in Tukwila and Vashon Island also have strong support.

The ballot results might indicate voters are supportive of schools, but wary of a still slow-to-recover economy.