Voters will decide funding measures for area schools

EPHRATA — Voters will decide the fate of several proposed funding measures for seven school districts based in Grant County during a Feb. 10 special election.

To be counted, ballots must be returned to designated collection sites or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Results will be certified by county officials on Friday, Feb. 20.

“Participating in the vote ensures your values and expectations for local education are represented in the final decision,” Grant County Auditor Michele Jaderlund said in a statement to GCJ.news.

 The Ephrata School District has proposed a $75 million bond measure. For approval, it requires a 60% majority vote plus “validation turnout” by 40% of voters within the district who cast ballots in the last general election (November 2025).

If voters okay the bond, it would raise local property taxes by an estimated $1.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation beginning in 2027 and be paid off over 25 years. Bond passage would also qualify the school district for an additional $27.4 million in non-taxed state monies.

Combined, the revenues would fund construction of new schools to replace decades-old Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate schools, plus add several new classrooms, secured access, and a new performing arts center at Ephrata High School. 

Six other area school districts are proposing property tax levies of two or four years to replace existing levies which expire at the end of 2026.

If approved, all six measures will pay for education programs and operations not funded by the state. Those costs can include sports and other extra-curricular activities, maintenance, staff training, food services, utilities, instructional materials, and some security and technology needs.

Individual levy resolutions and sample ballots, plus additional voter information, can by viewed on the Grant County Elections Department website.

The following is a summary of each district’s proposed replacement EPO/enrichment levy, including annual collection amounts and estimated tax rates per $1,000 of assessed property valuations:

COULEE-HARTLINE: 2027 - $350,600, estimated tax rate of 81 cents per $1,000;  2028 - $350,600, 74 cents.

QUINCY: 2027 - $10.72 million; 2028 - $11.04 million; 2029 - $11.37 million; 20230 - $11.71 million. Estimated tax rate is $1.25 per $1,000 each year.

ROYAL: 2027 - $2 million; 2028 - $2.1 million. Estimated tax rate is $1.63 each year.

WAHLUKE (MATTAWA): 2027 - $3 million; 2028 - $3.15 million; 2029 - $3.31 million; 2030 - $3.47 million. Estimated tax rate is $2.50 each year.

WILSON CREEK: 2027 - $386,000; 2028 - $397,500. Estimated tax rate is $2.50 each year.

WARDEN: 2027 - $2.158 million, $2.40; 2028 - $2.31 million, $2.45. Warden is also proposing a separate two-year replacement levy for safety, security, and technology improvements. Collection amounts are $377,667 in 2027 and $396,550 in 2028, both with an estimated tax rate of 42 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

A small number of voters in Grant County will also receive ballots from Lincoln and Adams county election officials for replacement levy propositions sought by the Odessa and Othello school districts, respectively.