OLYMPIA, Wash. — State lawmakers are debating a bill that would amend the constitution to lower the threshold of votes school districts need to receive to pass bond measures to large construction projects.
For 80 years, Washington law has required districts to reach 60% voter approval to receive the authorization to get the loan that typically funds new buildings or large improvements and expansions to schools. Joint Resolution 8200 would lower the threshold to a simple majority of 50% plus one to pass, as it currently stands in 38 other states.
“This leaves schools underfunding, students underserved and schools unable to need critical infrastructure needs even when their own communities strongly support the investment,” said Sen, Deobrah Krishnadasan, during a committee hearing in January. Krishnadasan is a Democrat representing District 26 which includes Gig Harbor, Bethel and Port Orchard.
Another bill sponsor, Sen. Adrian Cortes, a Democrat representing Clark County says over the past ten years, 85% of school bonds would have passed with a 50% threshold.
The Office of the State Superintendent said in the 2024 November election, 14 bonds were up for a vote, four of them passed. A simple majority would have meant 12 district bond efforts were successful, including Issaquah School District.
The Issaquah Bond was nearly 100 votes over the 50% threshold. In response, the district went back to voters in February with a bond about a third of the cost of the November measure. That bond failed to get even the 50% threshold. KIRO 7 asked if lowering the threshold would remove the incentive for school boards to put bond measures on the ballot that are the lowest cost to taxpayers.
“No, absolutely not,” Cortes responded.
“It’s about local control. If the district is not communicating properly, If they’re not showing results, if they’re not showing fiscal management, the voters will turn it down regardless of where we are on the threshold,” Cortes said.
Not all of Cortes’s colleagues are convinced.
“Bonds for me are something where it’s long a period of time. We just re-upped our levies, levies come to us frequently but a bond is a long time and that’s why it’s set at 60%,” said Sen. Paul Harris, a Republican from Camas.
Cortes says, in an effort to negotiate and gain bipartisan support, he lowered the threshold from 55% to 50% at the request of school districts but would remove the requirement for developers to pay school impact fees for new construction.
School Impact Fees are required to be paid for each new unit of housing constructed. Depending on the district, that could be anywhere between $200 for a unit of multifamily housing in Bellingham, to nearly $11,000 per single-family home in Issaquah, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.
“[The bill would be] increasing homeownership affordability and just overall reducing cost to consumers while at the same time making the way that we vote and we build for build schools more fair,” said Cortes.
SJR 8200 would amend the constitution, meaning if state lawmakers pass it, and the governor signs it, it would go to a statewide vote as well as a local vote after that to be implemented in school districts.
©2025 Cox Media Group
