School bond: Super majority a big hill to climb

Susan Paganelli, Gig Harbor

Like it or not, a measure such as Peninsula School District’s proposed bond needs a 60 percent super majority to pass. What does this mean?

It means that even though in 2011 when 57.67 percent of total votes were in support of another Peninsula school bond measure, a minority of 8,631 votes was all it took to sink it.

Take the math further: Just over 50 percent of district voters returned ballots in that election. However, because of the need for a super majority, it only took 21.5 percent of registered voters voting “no” to undermine what was clearly desired by the majority of active voters.
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I know this community cares about our kids, their education, and our public facilities. So please, when your ballot arrives, help surpass the 60 percent super majority requirement.
Let’s not let a negative minority make the decision for our community this time.

This is a transcript from a letter to the editor originally published in the News Tribune on April 10th, 2018.