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School districts across Washington see bonds fail despite approval from a majority of voters

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School districts across Washington see bonds fail despite approval from a majority of voters


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After last week”s special election, school districts across Washington are wondering how to move forward after only one-third of the 21 proposed school bonds passed. The rest, even those that were approved by a majority of voters, failed.

This includes all five school bonds that Spokane County voters in various school districts weighed in on. Even though each bond garnered more than 50% of the vote, bond measures require a 60% supermajority to pass.

Reaching that threshold hasn’t usually been an issue for Spokane Public Schools — at least in recent history. Before last week, voters hadn’t turned down an SPS bond proposition in half a century. In the past 20 years, the district successfully passed four bond proposals, raising more than $1.1 billion (which came with an additional $150 million in state-matching funds).

In 2018, SPS asked its voters to approve a $495.3 million bond (it’s largest ask ever) to fund construction of three new middle schools, replacement of three others, updates to some schools’ aging infrastructure and construction of ONE Spokane Stadium in downtown Spokane. Despite rejecting the downtown stadium location in an advisory vote, voters still passed the 2018 bond measure with nearly 70% approval.

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This year, SPS asked voters to approve a $200 million bond that would’ve funded replacement of two elementary schools (Adams and Madison) and significant updates to North Central High School. It also would’ve funded the construction planning for future school replacements. Though 56% of voters approved of it, the bond failed — making it the largest district in the state to have a bond fail this year.

The other school bonds on the February ballot in the county were in the Cheney, Deer Park, Riverside and West Valley school districts. Each failed despite garnering between 50% and 54% of the vote.

It’s not a total loss though. All but a few of the school levies on the ballot in Spokane County passed. Tax levies require only simple majority of “yes” votes to pass.

‘DEVASTATING’

“Obviously the results were quite disappointing,” says Beth Nye, principal of Adams Elementary School. “The word I’ve been using is ‘devastating.’”

Adams Elementary was one of the two schools that would have been replaced if this year’s bond had been successful. According to Nye, it’s the last school on the South Hill that hasn’t been modernized or replaced.

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As it stands, Adams isn’t compliant with ADA standards because it doesn’t have an elevator. This means students living within the school’s boundaries who are unable to traverse the school’s multiple floors must attend another elementary school.

“We were all looking forward to this bond passing, which would lead us straight into our replacement starting in June,” Nye says. “Now, we’re dealing with that disappointment, and we can hopefully use this as a moment to help [the community] recognize that our schools do need to continue to have these funds so that we can make sure our facilities are kept up and modern for our students.”

All the pre-work for the school’s replacement was completed with funds from the $145 million 2015 bond, according to Ryan Lancaster, the district’s spokesperson.

“We were able to fund through that bond all of the design work and the site planning, so they were pretty much shovel ready,” he says. “That whole project would have gotten off the ground pretty quickly.”

There is about $50 million left over from previous bonds, which Lancaster says will help cover some of the smaller projects that the district had planned. It won’t include any projects at Adams.

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“Typically, we go through a process every year where we have a chance to point out some of the smaller projects that we would benefit from,” Nye says. “But because Adams was on the list for a replacement, we were not focused on any smaller projects.”

The SPS board is scheduled to meet this week to discuss options for the district and Adams, Lancaster says.

‘AWFUL AND UNDEMOCRATIC’

Lancaster thinks that the biggest factors in the bond’s failure are the skyrocketing property values alongside the 60% approval threshold that bonds require.

There’s not much that school districts can do to affect these property values, so the focus has been on reducing the supermajority requirement that’s been in place since 1952. Still, there are many hoops to pass through if that’s ever going to change.

“[The supermajority requirement] is a massive barrier, especially since the culture war against public education,” says Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. “It’s frustrating, and I think it’s awful and undemocratic.”

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“Obviously the results were quite disappointing. The wordI’ve been using is ‘devastating.’”

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If bonds required only a simple majority for approval, all but three of this year’s bond measures in Washington would have passed. Additionally, over the past 10 years, only 45% of school bonds in the state were approved. If the supermajority requirement weren’t in place, 72% of the failed bonds would have passed, meaning about 85% of the total bond asks would have passed, according to Reykdal’s office.

“It’s always important to remember it’s not just local taxpayers’ funding,” Reykdal says. “A lot of state-matching funds won’t be going to these districts now.”

The state matching funds for the 11 school bonds that won more than 50% of the vote but less than the 60% supermajority totaled $227.1 million, Reykdal stated in a release.

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Since the supermajority requirement is embedded in the Washington Constitution, a two-thirds majority vote is needed in both chambers of the Legislature to change the law. Then, if the Legislature did approve the change, the measure would go to state voters — with final passage requiring support from a simple majority.

Those who support having a supermajority threshold for school bonds say that lowering this threshold would be unfair to the taxpayers that the requirement is meant to protect.

“Most taxpayers can see a good plan and they can see a bad plan. Sixty percent protects them,” Jeff Daily of Port Orchard, a former South Kitsap School District board member, told legislators earlier this year, according to Crosscut.

Jeff Pack, a representative of Washington Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, also told legislators that they “just want to change the rules to fit your agenda.”

While constitutional changes must clear a relatively high hurdle, they’re not unheard of. In 2007, the state constitution was amended to allow school levies to pass with only a simple majority, rather than the previously required supermajority.

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(This year, SPS passed its $300 million levy with about the same amount of voter approval as its bond. Central Valley School District passed both of its levies with about 52% approval, and Mead School District also passed its levy with almost 53% approval.)

That said, a change to school bond requirements looks unlikely this year. Senate Bill 5823, which would reduce the bond requirement to a simple majority, stalled in the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where it died for the session. ♦





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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News


Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

The Yankees and Nationals rank 1-2 in the major leagues in home runs, and all but one run in this game came via the long ball. Ben Rice hit his 29th of the season for the Yankees, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep for New York.

Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but in the ninth, the Nationals brought in left-hander Matt Krook — who had allowed 22 earned runs in 12 2/3 big league innings dating to 2023. Krook (0-1) yielded a one-out single by Domínguez, and Chisholm followed with his 13th homer.

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Wells added a solo shot off Justin Lawrence to make it 5-3.

David Bednar (3-3) won in relief, working the final two innings. The Yankees remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Rice homered in the first off Carson Palmquist, but the New York designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fifth and was shaken up. He was able to stay in the game.

By that time, Domínguez had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead with a homer off Zack Littell (8-6) in the fourth.

The game was delayed two hours at the start, and a wet field might have prevented Washington from tying it in the sixth. New York starter Ryan Weathers allowed a one-out double to CJ Abrams. Then Jacob Young followed with a single. Abrams looked likely to score, but he slipped rounding third and had to stay there.

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Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and struck out the next two hitters to strand both runners.

New York’s Paul Goldschmidt singled in the first to snap an 0-for-34 drought, and he also reached on an infield hit in the sixth.

Amed Rosario of the Yankees struck out in all three of his plate appearances and made two errors at third base before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

Up next

Cam Schlittler (9-5) was scheduled to start for New York on Saturday against Miles Mikolas (3-7) of the Nationals.

___

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.



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Washington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language

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Washington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language


Party platforms are typically lengthy documents intended to define political values, not enact law.

But language adopted by the Washington State Democratic Party is drawing scrutiny from Republicans, some Jewish community leaders, and even some Democrats who say they were left out of the conversation.

The debate centers on two planks in the party’s newly approved platform: one supporting continued work on a state reparations study and another linking a recent rise in antisemitism, in part, to actions by the Israeli government.

Stephen Reed, a spokesperson for the Washington State Democratic Party, said the platform is developed every two years by delegates selected from communities across the state.

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“They develop the platform. They write all the planks. They debate the planks,” Reed said.

Last month, the Washington State Democratic Party announced that more than 1,000 delegates at its 2026 convention in Spokane unanimously adopted language supporting reparations for descendants of victims of U.S. chattel slavery. The party described the move as the first such addition to a state Democratic Party platform.

The approved language says Democrats support “the study and implementation of reparative action, remedies and reconciliation” for descendants. The party also said Democrats had previously passed a 2024 resolution urging Washington leaders to create and fund a statewide study on reparations, which is currently underway and being managed by the Department of Commerce. A final report with recommendations is due in June 2027.

Reed said the party’s platform does not settle the question of whether Washington should provide direct payments as reparations, noting that other proposals include offering free college tuition to descendants.

But it is the platform’s language on antisemitism that has prompted criticism from both inside and outside the party. The approved platform states: “There has been a dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum, due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government. History shows us the dangerous repercussions suffered when collective action to combat antisemitism and promote understanding is not taken. We must ensure that the Jewish community is protected from misinformation, harassment, and violence.”

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It is unclear whether the Washington State Jewish Democratic Caucus was consulted before the language was adopted. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle criticized the provision.

“By ascribing the rise of antisemitism in the United States, even partially, to the actions of the Israeli government, the Washington State Democratic Party has rationalized, and given cover to, the actions of antisemites rather than full-throatedly condemning them. At a time where the Jewish community, which makes up only 2% of the U.S. population, is the target of nearly 70% of religion-based hate crimes, we urge the Washington State Democratic Party to do everything in its power to reduce antisemitism rather than justify it,” Solly Kane, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, said in a statement to KOMO News.

The State GOP, which is no stranger to incorporating national public policy into its regional platform either, criticized the Democrats.

“I read the Washington State Democratic Party platform, and it’s a banquet of trust-fund leftist nonsense,” Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh said. “A lot of it is just not grounded in any real policy issue facing Washington families.”

Walsh said the platform contains “very little coherent stuff about tax reform or safe communities or improving K-12 schools,” while highlighting what he called “a very bizarre commitment to reparations for slavery.”

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Asked why the Washington Republican Party’s 2024 platform includes language calling for limiting federal funding for programs that support critical race theory or The 1619 Project and for ending birthright citizenship, Walsh said, “We’re talking about not spending public resources. That means forcing taxpayers to pay for programs of various controversial sorts.”

“There is really no moral equivalence here,” he added.

Reed said he personally interprets the Democratic platform’s language as criticism of the Israeli government, not of Jewish people.

“I take this language personally to mean that the government of Israel is engaging in actions that are making Israel less safe, that are causing untold harm in the Palestinian community, especially among civilians,” Reed said. “That simply isn’t the right behavior for an ally of the United States.”

Reed acknowledged that the language has prompted concern and debate. He said the party has a Jewish caucus and that party officials tried to provide proposed platform language to caucuses before the convention, but he conceded the process may have fallen short.

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“We did our best, and we hear that we may have come up short in those outreach efforts to give them enough time to digest everything,” Reed said. “If we fell short, we apologize to those communities.”

Reed said party platforms are designed to show voters where the party’s grassroots stand, even when the issues are complicated, controversial, or beyond the scope of state government.

“It’s a statement of values,” Reed said. “This lets Washingtonians know where the Democratic Party’s grassroots are, how they’re thinking, and the values they’re going to bring.”



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Bengals 2026 Opponent Preview: Washington Commanders

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Bengals 2026 Opponent Preview: Washington Commanders


Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking an in-depth look at the Bengals’ 2026 opponents. The Bengals play in Washington on Monday Night Football in Week 11 against the Commanders.

2025

The Commanders went 5-12 last season, finishing third in the NFC East a year after making a run to the NFC Championship Game. QB Jayden Daniels played in just seven games due to injury after winning NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024. Veteran Marcus Mariota started eight games, going 2-6, while now-Bengal Josh Johnson logged two starts under center.

Washington’s offense averaged 20.9 points per game last season, ranking 22nd in the league. Without their second overall pick quarterback, the Commanders struggled to pass the ball, averaging 184.1 passing yards per game, good for 24th in the league. The team’s top receiver Terry McLaurin played in 10 games as he too struggled with injuries. As a result, former San Francisco 49er Deebo Samuel led Washington with 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns.

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The Commanders were more effective on the ground, ranking fourth in yards per carry (4.7) and yards per game (134.7). Washington primarily featured two backs: rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez. Croskey-Merritt paced the team in attempts (175), yards (805) and touchdowns (eight) while Rodriguez added 112 carries for 500 yards and six scores.

On the other side of the ball, the Commanders allowed 26.5 points per game, the sixth most in the NFL, and 384.3 yards per game, the most in the league. Washington allowed the third-most rushing yards per game (141.8) and fifth-most yards per carry (4.8). The defense allowed 242.5 yards per game through the air, the fifth most. The unit struggled to force turnovers as well, notching the second-fewest takeaways in the NFL with 10.

Offseason Changes

Head coach Dan Quinn had to replace both coordinators this offseason, as the team decided to mutually part ways with former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and let go of defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. The Commanders hired two first-time coordinators in David Blough (OC) and Daronte Jones (DC).

Washington overhauled its defense this offseason, starting with the defensive line. The Commanders signed former Ravens and Chargers DE Odafe Oweh to a four-year deal, former Texans DT Tim Settle Jr. to a three-year deal and former Jaguars and Patriots DE K’Lavon Chaisson to a one-year deal. They also drafted DE Joshua Josephs from Tennessee in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

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The team added LB Leo Chenal from the Chiefs in free agency and spent the seventh overall pick in the draft on LB Sonny Styles Jr. from Ohio State. On the back end, Washington signed S Nick Cross and CB Amik Robertson.

On the offensive side of the ball, Washington let Rodriguez walk in free agency and signed former Browns RB Jerome Ford and former Buccaneers RB Rachaad White instead. It added depth to the receiver room with one-year deals for Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson and used a second-round pick on Clemson WR Antonio Williams. The Commanders also signed TE Chig Okonkwo to a three-year contract from the Titans.



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