But, unfortunately, in a situation some might call rare, it appears I was right on this one. As I predicted a few weeks ago in the Weekly Volcano, Tacomans have chosen to protect their wallets rather than invest in the future of our children.

Although the first numbers were only released last night (Tuesday, March 10), and ballots will continue to be counted up until March 25, when the election will be certified â€" the news doesn’t look good for the Tacoma School capital improvement bond. Needing 40 percent of those who turned out last November to vote in the presidential election to cast ballots, and needing to get yes votes from 60 percent of those people â€" it appears the 2009 Tacoma Schools capital improvement bond is going down in flames. While it’s early, at this point the bond is only receiving a 46 percent yes vote.

If passed, the Tacoma Schools capital improvement bond would have increased property taxes on homeowners by 75 cents per $1,000 assessed value â€" or about $16 a month for homes valued at $250,000 â€" and rebuilt the borderline condemnable Hunt and Baker Middle Schools, as well as renovated Stewart Middle School and continued to upgrade Wilson High School.

But that all appears moot, since in this time of economic uncertainty voters in Tacoma have spoken â€" and they’ve spoken out against new taxes, even if it means our schools will literally be falling down around our children.

Marty Campbell, who led the Tacoma Citizens for Schools campaign, wasn’t ready to say the fight was over when I talked with him by phone today â€" noting that the majority of mail-in ballots typically arrive a day late, and early voting always tends to be negative â€" but he was willing to talk about some of the things he believes Tacoma can take from the experience, whether the bond ultimately fails or not.

“One of the good things that came out of this was a discussion about education that lasted six weeks,” says Campbell. “We’ve generated a lot of talk. There are a lot of passionate people in Tacoma that really care about education.”

“I would recommend that we need to look at the big picture,” continues Campbell. “We need to recognize that it takes a village, and sometimes it can’t just be the school district.”