Gregerson proposes passing school bonds with simply majority | Legislature 2015

State Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, and other legislators want to change state law to allow school bond measures to pass on a simple majority rather than the current 60 percent requirement.

Gregerson, whose 33rd district includes parts of Kent, issued a media release on Friday after the failure this week of a school construction bond in the Highline Public Schools district. The measure received 54.6 percent in favor.

“I was greatly saddened to see yet another school construction bond fail this week,” Gregerson said. “The Highline school district’s buildings are overcrowded and in desperate need of repair.”

Gregerson said 232 school construction bonds have gotten more than 50 percent of the vote from 1999 to 2013, yet they all failed because of the supermajority requirement.

“The current system is broken,” she said. “Why is 54.6 percent a landslide for a politician, yet a failure for our public schools?”

House Bill 1941 proposes to change the law with an amendment to the state constitution and would apply to November elections. Voters would need to approve the change before it would become law.

“I believe all voters deserve to have their voice heard in our democracy,” Gregerson said. “November elections have greater turnouts than special elections. And 50 percent plus one is democracy. A simple majority was passed for school levies in 2008. Today, simple majority for bonds makes sense given new mandate to reduce class size.”

The bill goes before the House Committee on Education during a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16.

“I am confident I can work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this important bill for Washington’s children,” Gregerson said.

State Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, also is a sponsor of the bill. Orwall represents the 33rd District and serves on the Education Committee.