Voters approved five out of nine Clark County school funding measures on Tuesday’s ballot, according to early returns. Vancouver’s levy was passing, while Evergreen voters split on that district’s two levies. Battle Ground’s levy was trailing, while Ridgefield seemed to be passing a capital levy after six consecutive failed bond attempts since 2019. “We are incredibly grateful to the Ridgefield community for supporting our levy proposals and for the valuable feedback you provided throughout this process,” Superintendent Jenny Rodriquez said. “Your input helped shape these measures to best meet the needs of our students, staff and schools.” Two kinds of levies were before voters. Educational programs and operations levies fund teachers, support staff, supplies and materials, or services that the state only partially funds. Technology, safety and capital levies pay for renovations along with technology and safety enhancements.

Levies require a simple majority to pass and are one to six years in length. Bonds are repaid with property taxes over as many as 40 years and must be approved by a 60 percent vote. Vancouver Public Schools In the Vancouver school district, 52.13 percent, or 12,681 voters, approved a six-year replacement levy for technology, safety and capital projects. The levy would go into effect in January 2026 to replace the current technology capital levy, which expires at the end of 2025. Technology levy rates range from 29 to 38 cents with a total collection of about $83 million over six years. The expected 2026 rate is $3.54 (29 cents for the capital levy, $1.14 for existing bonds, $2.11 for the operations levy).

The district’s overall tax rates per $1,000 of assessed property value are expected to decrease after 2026, when the owner of a $500,000 home would pay $1,770. Evergreen Public Schools Both of Evergreen’s four-year replacement levies are close calls. The operations levy was failing by 46 votes, with 49.9 percent approval, while the technology levy had 565-vote lead with 51.26 percent approval. If passed, the operations levy would replace a three-year levy approved by voters in 2022 and raise a total of about $288.9 million over four years. Taxpayers are expected to pay a range from $2.02 to $2.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The technology levy, which would raise a total of about $50.5 million over four years, replaces a six-year levy approved by voters in 2019. The new levy rates range from 36 cents to 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

With the two levies and Evergreen’s 2018 bond, which paid for the replacement of several schools and construction of a new district headquarters, homeowners would pay an estimated $4.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2026, about $2,015 per year for a $500,000 house. Battle Ground Public Schools Battle Ground’s educational programs and operations replacement levy was losing by 612 votes, with 51.86 percent voting against the measure. The four-year levy would replace the existing operations levy, which ends in 2025. The new levy would begin collections in 2026 and raise about $166.3 million over four years with an estimated tax rate of $1.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value each year. If the approved levy passes, the owner of a $500,000 home would pay an estimated $1,205 in annual property taxes, including the existing capital levy.

Ridgefield School District In Ridgefield, 54.33 percent of voters, or 4,135, agreed to pass the district’s replacement operations levy, which would collect a total of $44 million from 2026 to 2028, with an estimated tax rate of $1.75 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The capital projects and technology levy, with a 54.89 percent (or 4,174) voting “yes,” would collect $21.2 million over the same period. The projected capital levy rate would be 84 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The levies would go into effect in January 2026 for a combined tax rate of $2.58 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The owner of a $500,000 house would pay an estimated $1,290 in property taxes that year. The cost includes the existing 2012 and 2017 existing bonds. “This investment in our schools is an investment in Ridgefield’s future,” Rodriquez said. Hockinson School District As the only district to place a bond on the ballot, Hockinson’s 21-year, $87 million bond was rejected with 53.7 percent (or 1,560) voting “no.”

The district’s current bond will decrease in 2026 to 69 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The bond would’ve added $1.34 for a total of $2.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value, according to the district’s website. The owner of a $500,000 home would pay $1,015 per year. In the past 20 years, only two Hockinson School District bonds have passed. A 2003 bond funded construction of Hockinson High School. Before then, only the elementary and middle schools existed, and ninth-graders moved on to high schools outside of the district. More recently, a 2015 bond allowed the district to build a new Hockinson Middle School. La Center School District La Center’s three-year replacement educational programs and operations levy passed by 58.5 percent, with 1,486 “yes” votes. The levy would replace the previous approved levy that expires at the end of 2025. Collections would start in 2026 if approved.

The tax rate would remain at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value for all three years, or $750 a year for the owner of a $500,000 home. Over the three years, the district will collect about $12 million. Mount Pleasant School District Mount Pleasant’s three-year maintenance and operation levy of $195,000 per year of collection passed by 53.57 percent, with 45 “yes” votes to 39 “no.” (The district includes voters in both Clark County and Skamania County.) The projected tax rates range from $1.79 to $2.13 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The next ballot count is Wednesday at 5 p.m.