Voters appeared to have overwhelmingly approved South Whidbey School District’s Proposition No. 1 Replacement Maintenance and Operation Levy.

About 69 percent of voters were in favor of the measure, according to the first count released by the Island County Auditor’s Office on Tuesday. Ballots were tabulated after the ballot drop boxes closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday night. The results were posted at 8:06 p.m. A total of 8,870 ballots were counted, out of 23,799 registered voters across 24 precincts in Island County.

The next ballot count is scheduled for 5 p.m. today. The results can be viewed online at results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/island/.

The three-year levy will collect more than $4 million annually, totaling about $12.6 million by 2019. Levy rates are estimated to remain at a steady rate of $1.05 per $1,000 of assessed value. A person with a home valued at $300,000 home would pay $315 per year.

“I feel like it’s a vote of confidence from the community that we need to continue what we’re doing,” said Superintendent Jo Moccia. “It’s just a really big thank you to the community.”