It looks like San Juan County voters will overwhelmingly renew the property tax levy supporting the San Juan Island School District in the Tuesday, April 24 election.

Initial election results posted at 8:04 p.m., show that the staff has counted 1,778 “yes” votes to approve the levy, which is 71.72 percent of the votes. There are an estimated 600 ballots left to be counted. The next count will be on May 3 and the election will be certified the next day.

“I would like to thank the levy committee for their dedication and commitment to our district,” said SJISD Superintendent Danna Diaz. “Most importantly, I would like to thank our community for supporting our teachers and students.”

The school district measure renews a four-year property tax levy that will take effect in 2019, just as the last voter-approved levy expires.

The district will tax property owners about 12 percent less in 2019 than the year before. This will cost the owner of a median-valued home ($537,500) in San Juan County about $317 in 2019.

According to the school board, revenue from the school levy will cover 17 percent of what the state deems is outside of its duties to fund “basic” public education. For the school district, this includes items the district is already providing today, such as summer school; after-school programs; classes for music, art, advanced placement and special education; and additional teachers to ensure smaller classroom sizes.

School board member Ralph Hahn reiterated the district’s thankfulness to both the voters and volunteers.

“The community’s overwhelming support for the levy, the school district and our students, is appreciated by everyone connected to the district,” he said. “These volunteers are unsung heroes who, year after year, give their time, money and hard work to ensure that our students have the education that they need and deserve.”