CLARKSTON, WA – A 25-year Capital Improvements Bond to reconstruct the Clarkston High School has failed to receive at least 60% of the votes as required by law. With an estimated 350 ballots left to count, the yes votes have garnered 51.09% while no votes account for 48.91%. There have been 5,508 total votes so far out of 12,294 registered voters. Voter turnout is approximately 44.83%, according to election results.
The new construction at Charles Francis Adams High School would have cost an estimated $88.9 million with $9.5 million of that coming from matching funds. The new bond was expected to cost property owners $2.73 to $3.11 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Previous efforts to modernize Clarkston High School, in 2011 and 2017, would have cost much less at $45 million and $65 million respectively, supporters say.
Phase I construction would have taken place between 2024 and 2026 with an opening date of January 2027. Phase II would have lasted one year and be completed in 2028, according to the Vote Yes! CHS site.
CHS was named after Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915), a wealthy Boston-area businessman who helped to organize the Lewiston Water & Power Company. Learn more here: https://magazine.wsu.edu/2012/07/30/the-perfect-city/
