FILE - Battle Ground High School on April 22, 2026.
Erik Neumann / OPB
Voters in Battle Ground appear to have passed a levy to send more funding to their local school district, according to early election returns.
The levy was passing on Tuesday night by just over 51%, a difference of 927 votes.
If those results hold, Proposition 11 will mark a win for Battle Ground Public Schools, where advocates and district administrators have been trying to convince residents to stave off more financial pain for the district, after it cut millions from its budget over the last two years.
An organizer with Battle Ground Citizens for Better Schools, which was promoting the levy, could not be reached for comment.
School districts across Washington state are facing dual financial pressures of ballooning costs and flat or declining student enrollment. In Battle Ground, where student population has fluctuated up and down in recent years, some of the biggest challenges are inflation and costs mandated by the state that districts must pay for themselves, district officials have said.
The new levy is slated to send the district around $38 million per year from 2027 to 2029, spread across the district’s 19 schools. Similar levy measures failed in the previous three elections.
Administrators’ goals include funding five safety and security positions. Battle Ground currently has 12 campus security officers and two school resource officers. They also hope to restore nine school counselor positions that were lost during previous cuts.
The district cut $34 million from its budget over the previous two years. In the process, about 270 staff positions were lost.
Other plans for the levy dollars include reducing class sizes, since it eliminated 16% of its teaching positions, and paying for career and technical education courses.
The district has been using its reserves to pay costs over the past two years, after a previous levy expired. Officials from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction have said if its fund balance — akin to the district’s savings account — continued to decline, the state would consider stepping in to help manage its finances.
The cost of the 2026 levy was a reduction from previous failed proposals. All three past attempts occurred during special elections. The 2026 midterm was the first year that the levy was on the ballot during a general election, which typically results in higher voter turnout.
