Before the Nov. 5 election I was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of the Tahoma School District’s $195 million construction bond measure would pass.

Then the first round of ballots were tallied and the results posted the evening of Nov. 5. What I saw when I was finally able to pull up the results online — I had a hard time finding them while also sifting through the Maple Valley and Covington city council race numbers — blew my expectations out of the water.

I knew the bond measure was passing before I saw the numbers as Katherine Smith sent me a message to tell me that Tahoma had good news.

To see that already 68 percent of ballots were marked yes at that point, which was about 8,000, was beyond what I thought would happen. I conservatively guessed it would pass with about 61 percent of the vote.

District officials and members of the VOTE Yes committee, which campaigned on behalf of TSD, told us and Facebook followers they expected the numbers to trend upward with possibly as much as a 70  percent approval rating once the election is certified later this month. As I write this on Tuesday morning — another round of counted ballots were to be posted at 4:30 p.m. — the support had trended upward toward 68.99 percent or 8,679 ballots cast in favor of the bond. Considering the last bond measure garnered less than 53 percent approval when it needed a supermajority of 60 percent to pass, as did this year’s measure, in April 2011, that is a considerable swing in a community which I consider to be fiscally conservative especially when it comes to tax increases.

I attribute the success to a number of things. First, I think the economy has improved enough in the past two and a half years that voters are more comfortable with this tax increase. Granted, not all voters are since 31 percent voted against it and I understand that. In any case, the district had plenty of good signs in the past year as Maple Valley Fire’s last levy lid lift was passed, the Tacoma School District’s bond measure passed in February, Auburn School District’s efforts to raise $110 million to renovate Auburn High passed last fall on the third try, to name just a few indicators people are more likely to support these kinds of ballot measures in the region than in 2011.

What I also believe led to the bond’s passage is the way VOTE Yes campaigned this time around. I followed the committee’s posts on Facebook and it was clear to me the members took nothing for granted. They communicated the urgency of dealing with the district’s overcrowding in an effective way by imparting that message in a variety of ways from interviews with The Reporter as well as all of the local television stations to sign waving at the Four Corners intersection to doorbelling to a website with well-articulated arguments supported with data. They also reached out more effectively to those who don’t have children in the district by bringing local real estate agents on board to help explain the economic impact it would have on the community such as a dip in home values — I was going to vote for it anyway, but as a homeowner, this struck me, too since we would like to sell our starter home in 2015 to buy something a bit roomier — as well as the difficulty that could create in attracting businesses here and the impact that could have on the community as a whole.

At the center of all this was the district’s vision for a new Tahoma High School in what we have affectionately called the Donut Hole since 2007. This 154 acre piece of King County-owned property sits almost smack in the middle of the city of Maple Valley — a critical bit of trivia because Tahoma High is actually in the city of Covington now — which is home to a county transportation and roads facility, nine holes of Elk Run Golf Course and a large stand of trees. I am quite familiar with this property because I have lived near it for nine and a half years and written about it off and on since early 2007. County officials want to move the transportation facility out of the middle of the neighborhood which has grown up around it.

And Tahoma officials think a new high school which would serve as a regional learning center, a place that would go beyond the traditional purpose of a comprehensive four-year high school, to offer courses by higher education institutions for members of the community as well as Tahoma students. This could potentially draw businesses to the city which could partner with the district as well as provide new jobs.

Unlike in 2011, when the district proposed a wide swath of fixes for a variety of schools, this proposed bond measure had a central project with a clear focus which would resolve the district’s increasingly challenging overcrowding issues.

This vision was an easier sell, I think, and from what I could tell from the letters to the editor we received, the comments we got on those letters particularly the first one we got that voiced disapproval of the bond, along with the dialog I saw on the VOTE Yes committee’s Facebook profile led me to a cautious optimism about the bond.

In late October I went for a run on a Saturday morning. As I set out to warm up, some volunteers were walking through my neighborhood and I told them not to worry about ringing my doorbell because my husband and I would be voting for the bond measure.

I ran out of my neighborhood, down to Kent-Kangley Road and east to Four Corners where I saw a large number of supporters waving signs. I ran through the intersection and back behind Safeway, down Maple Valley Highway then headed home, smiling to myself as I considered the differences between this campaign and the last. I felt good about this community I live in.

I was bursting with pride, though, Nov. 5 when I saw the first tally of votes. I was also relieved. By the time my daughter hits second grade, the new Tahoma High will be built, and she will not be in a crowded elementary school.

The kids in the district will continue to get the world-class education, the best teachers will stay and principals will be able to attract more incredible educators.

Not only will our children benefit but the entire community will reap the rewards. Our investment of an additional $36 a month for a home worth $300,000 will be well worth it. It is considerably less expensive than what we spend for the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, which is where those who don’t finish high school frequently end up, and a far more powerful an investment.

Cheers to the community of voters in the Tahoma School District for making that investment.