At 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, Portland Public Schools looked likely to gain voter approval for reupping its bond measure. And by Wednesday morning, the district had increased its lead, from 53.7% “yes” votes on Tuesday, up to 57.7% “yes” today.

For many Portlanders, this was the biggest issue on an otherwise low-wattage ballot. PPS had been looking to renew a bond measure approved by voters in 2012, 2017 and 2020. If the results stay the same, the money will be used primarily to replace or renovate several PPS schools.

Turnout often is low in a May election with no high-profile, big-name candidates running for office, and this was no exception. As of Wednesday morning, the count of accepted ballots in Multnomah County had climbed to 21.3%. That was up considerably from end-of-day on Monday, which hit only 14.8%.

If the early results hold, the impact on property owners would not change. The property tax rate would remain where it is now, at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That hasn’t changed since 2017. The owner of a home assessed at $284,003 — the average assessed property value for residential property in the Portland Public Schools District, according to PPS Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong—  would pay approximately $59 per month.

School board races

Wednesday morning results show challenger Rashelle Chase-Miller leading incumbent Herman Greene, 58.4% to 41% for a seat on the Portland School Board, representing Zone 4. That was one of few real surprises in an otherwise predictable election night in Multnomah County.

Incumbent Christy Splitt will keep her Zone 1 seat, while Virginia La Forte seems to be taking the Zone 5 seat and Stephanie Engelsman has an easy lead for the Zone 6 seat. Neither Zone 5 nor 6 featured incumbents seeking re-election.

There will be no surprises for the Portland Community College Board of Directors. Incumbents who ran unchallenged include Laurie Cremona Wagner in Zone 1; and Dan Saltzman, a former Portland city commissioner, in Zone 5.

With no incumbent in Zone four, unchallenged newcomer Brandy Penner will take the seat.

Gina Sanchez Roletto ran unopposed for Zone 7.

Other elections on the May ballots include candidate races for Mount Hood community colleges’ boards of directors; other local school board and educational service district candidates; and special district elections such as the Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District.

Final election results won’t be certified until Monday, June 16, because ballots mailed to Multnomah County Elections and received by Tuesday, May 27, can still be counted.