It's back to the drawing board for the Federal Way school district.

On February 7, Proposition #1, a $245 million bond measure to finance an extensive renovation and rebuilding plan of the district's schools and facilities, received a 52% approval, falling short of the necessary 60% required for passage.

Failure to garner enough votes for a supermajority passing thwarted plans to begin construction on new schools, a performance auditorium and an environmental learning center.

As a result, area homeowners will not see their property taxes increase for the time being.

Proponents of the supermajority requirement say the election serves as an example of democracy in action, since out of the 59,753 registered voters in Federal Way, only 14,148, or 24%, turned up at the polls to have their say.

Should such a small minority be able to raise taxes for everyone else?

47% of the voters who did show up polling stations around the city rejected Prop. #1.

Opponents of supermajority say it is an unfair stipulation, as the bond would have clearly passed without the requirement and will now cost the school district approximately $125,000 to run another campaign asking voters to rethink their positions. That money comes out of the district's operational budget.

It is not unusual that a bond measure such as last Tuesday's does not pass on the first round on the ballot. In 1999, the $83 million bond measure the district put forth to voters to build Sequoia Middle School and Todd Beamer, and completely overhaul Truman, narrowly failed in May of that year, with a 58% voter approval. In September 1999 the bond measure passed. In 1990, a measure went to the voters three times before finally passing.

"We have mixed emotions," said Sally McLean, chief financial officer for the district, after the King County Elections Division finished counting the votes. "We are very pleased that we had more than a 50% yes vote, but wish we had a better voter turn-out and that more people paid attention to this important vote." Superintendent Tom Murphy was unavailable for comment.

"I'm disappointed with the outcome," said FW school board member Charles Hoff. "The board will have decide what to do next. We have a work-study on the issue planned for March 7th."

At that meeting, the school board will consider whether to present the voters the same measure during an upcoming election or to significantly revise their plans.

King County is considering changing to an all-mail ballot, as some other counties, such as Thurston, currently use. Voters would no longer go to polling stations on a certain Tuesday, which might help increase ballot counts while making existing problems in the volunteer staffing of polling places a moot point.

The Federal Way News asked several voters exiting one polling station on February 7 their thoughts on Prop. #1. The general consensus was that the current state of the economy, both nationally and locally, put a damper on expansive financial planning.

"I voted no this time. I think the district is getting greedy. What happened to the money from the last one [referring to the 1999 bond measure]?" said a Dash Point resident who wished to remain as anonymous as her ballot cast a few minutes earlier.