Two Renton school levies winning; bond measure falling short

Two Renton School District levies in the Feb. 14 special election were winning easily, according to the initial election results released Tuesday night. However, a $97 million bond measure to build a new middle school and make other improvements was failing to reach the required 60 percent yes vote.

Two Renton School District levies in the Feb. 14 special election were winning easily, according to the initial election results released Tuesday night.

However, a $97 million bond measure to build a new middle school and make other improvements was failing to reach the required 60 percent yes vote. Enough voters have turned out to validate the vote on the bond measure.

The replacement maintenance and operations levy was ahead, 60 percent yes to 40 percent no. The technology levy was passing, 57 percent to 43 percent. Both require a simple majority for passage.

The bond measure had a 56.57 percent yes vote and a 43.43 percent no vote.

The count reflects about 23 percent of the 56,811 registered voters in the Renton School District.

Leading up the elections, volunteers had contacted about 17,000 voters urging support for the three measures.

The King County Elections Division will release results weekdays at about 4:30 p.m.; final results will be posted on Feb. 28.