I’ve been trying to avoid the Tahoma School District’s $125 million bond issue for a few weeks now; both before the voting and after the measure failed.

I know a number of very good people who volunteered a lot of time to work on this election. They probably won’t like this column, but I think it’s important that we talk about what happened.

Some of the school leaders seem too bitter and angry to find out why the school bond measure failed. One discussion group at a school heard a school board member say, “If you voted no on this bond, I don’t want to hear about it.”

One teacher reportedly told a group of kids that their favorite video instruction class would be canceled if their parents didn’t vote yes on the bond measure.

It’s probably true, but I think that recruiting kids to lobby for your fundraising this way is distasteful. The parents who mentioned this voted yes anyway, but they’re now suspicious of the school’s motives.

These are isolated incidents, and maybe the two people in question are loose cannons, but that’s where an effective leader steps in to say, “We don’t tolerate this type of attitude”.

That isn’t the biggest reason why this bond measure failed, but it certainly helps chip away at the yes voters. People’s attitudes are shaped by their individual experiences with teachers and administrators, and memories of arrogance regarding the public’s money won’t soon be forgotten.

Here are the top reasons I’ve heard regarding its failure:

Too much money

The experts said, “This is a prudent plan.” School officials said, “This is the minimum we need to get by.” Voters said, “That’s still too much.”

The bond had already been delayed several times due to the crummy economy. I can only imagine the hand-wringing in those meetings; wondering whether now is the right time to ask the boss for a raise. Turns out that it wasn’t, and now the boss seems kinda ticked off.

Most of the No voters (including several teachers I know) voted against it because they simply couldn’t afford it. A few of them are barely hanging onto their houses, and adding another $300 or so per year is the breaking point. If the teachers are voting no, then you can bet that most people felt this way.

Strategic misfires

The biggest turnoff was the highly visible strategy of recruiting more parents to vote. The thinking was, 72 percent of those parents didn’t vote in the last election. Recruit 2,000 of these parents and win the election.

But that gave the appearance of bypassing opposing viewpoints by stacking the votes. You have to appeal to the people sitting on fence, and not just try to wake up the people sleeping on your side of it. They did get 2,000 more votes than in 2010, but more of those people voted no.

Also, one person told me the schools were trying to do too much all at once. She would have liked a simple, “We need to build two new schools” bond issue, that wasn’t cluttered with a new sports field, an already-rejected auditorium, and more portables.

Finally, the threat of going to year-round schools was seen as a positive move for some people. It’s a lot easier to find a 3-week vacation program than a 12-week one.

Didn’t tell the stories

All but one letter to editor seemed like they were written from the same script, which includes the mandatory levy phrases. Doing it for our children’s future? Check. Gonna raise your property values? Check. Make sure to use the word “community” at least 12 times per letter? Check.

Only one teacher described in detail the problems that were occurring in the school; malfunctioning electrical outlets, leaky roofs, mold, and urine smells. It was a real story of need, but it didn’t make it into any of the official literature.

We rely on stories to be able to relate to others. No other personal stories were told, so there was little emotional connection. Voters were left to decide based on bland facts and selfish interests, rather than hear the human side of the issue.

I’m sure a lot of people will be angry with me for pointing out even a single flaw with the school district. Others will cheer me for calling it like I see it. I’m only bringing up these issues because I care about having good schools for every kid.

If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t say anything, and these problems would simply reapear at the next levy. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.