Voters in several school districts in Sonoma County are deciding in this election on a variety of similar parcel tax and bond measures that would fund school renovations and education programs.
Early unofficial results posted shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday show voters in the West Sonoma County Union High School District strongly favoring the extension of a parcel tax with Measure G.
The measure would extend a $79 parcel tax enacted in 1993 for another eight years.
Meanwhile, another parcel tax measure in the Harmony Union School District, Measure M, is teetering on the threshold needed to pass. That measure would enact a $75 parcel tax for four years.
Both parcel tax measures need two-thirds votes cast in their respective districts to pass. Measure G garnered about 75% of the vote in the initial results, while Measure H recorded 65.7% in favor so far.
Bond measures are being considered by voters in the Sonoma County Junior College District, the Windsor Unified School District, Old Adobe Union School District and the Waugh School District.
All school bond measures being considered need 55% of votes cast in the district to pass.
The first batch of votes showed voters in the Sonoma County Junior College District, which operates Santa Rosa Junior College, favoring Measure AB with about 65% of votes in favor. The measure would authorize the district to issue $830 million in bonds.
The other three measures are just ahead of the threshold needed to pass.
Early unofficial results indicate support for Windsor Unified School District’s Measure J, which would enact a value-based property tax of between $46-$60 per $100,000 of assessed property value to pay for issuing $96 million in bonds.
Measure J led with 58% of votes in favor.
Old Adobe Union School District’s Measure O was leading with 55.77% of votes recorded so far in favor of the $48 million bond measure. The bond debt would be repaid by a parcel tax of $25 per $100,000 in value.
Petaluma voters in the two-elementary school Waugh School District are indicating support for Measure E, which was garnering about 56.5% in early unofficial returns. The measure would authorize $16 million in bonds that would be repaid with a parcel tax of $30 per $100,000 in property value.
Vote-by-mail ballots that were postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day must be received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 10 to be counted.
The results will be certified by Dec. 3 at the latest, per state law.