A look at precinct voting patterns for the bond measure to build a new Stevens School in South Aberdeen shows that the count fell short in the Central Park and eastern precincts.

The Feb. 11 vote required a 60% majority and drew 59.99 — one vote short. The school board has already decided to try again and the measure will be on a special election ballot in April.

The bond vote would have authorized the borrowing of up to $46.8 million to replace the school, which was built in the 1950s and last renovated in the ’70s. The money would be repaid with property tax collections within the Aberdeen School District.

The district stretches beyond the city limits, from Aberdeen Gardens in the north to the Newskah area on the road to Westport in the south, and from the Hoquiam border in the west to Central Park in the east.

Eastern voting districts in and around Central Park, including Blue Slough (57.04%), Central Park (52.21%) and Reynvaan (47.37%) were all well below 60% support for the measure.

Support was also weak north of the city limits where less than 50% of voters approved the bond issue in the northernmost precinct of Coats Landing (49.44%), which stretches up the Wishkah River.

The overall vote was 2,002 in favor of the bond and 1,335 opposed.

Support for the new school was strongest in Aberdeen’s in-town voting precincts with all of them approving it with more than 60% of the vote except the Aberdeen 161 precinct on the city’s west side which supported the measure with 58.87% of the vote, 209 to 146. The Aberdeen 111 voting precinct where the Stevens school is located approved the measure with 63.03% of the votes, 237 to 139.

The proposal calls for the new school to be built next to the old one in South Aberdeen. Students would remain at the old school until construction is completed, according to the district.

“The support for Stevens Elementary School is definitely out there. Many voters recognize that Stevens in South Aberdeen is the only elementary school in the district that has not been modernized,” said Kris Koski, Chair of Aberdeen Citizens for Schools.

“The district’s maintenance staff has done an amazing job keeping the school going, but the 1950s-era school has outlived its useful life. Volunteers with Aberdeen Citizens for Schools will be working hard over the next two months to provide information to voters. We have a website set up at stevens2020.org that is a great place to learn about the issues,” he said.

The district was planning for a renovation or rebuild of Stevens in the early 2000s, but a fire destroyed Aberdeen High School making a new high school the top priority.