After an updated count, the number of votes approving construction of a new stadium in Oak Harbor continues to rise.

As of Monday afternoon, 4,436 voters had approved a $6.5 million bond that would fund construction of a new athletic facility at Oak Harbor High School while 2,872 voters said no.

That means 60.7 percent of the voters approved the measure, which is seven tenths of a percentage point higher than the minimum 60 percent supermajority needed for approval.

The approval rate for the stadium measure has slowly increased since initial results of the Nov. 8 general election were released. When that happened, results showed only 53 percent of the voters approving the bond. Later that evening, the approval rate climbed to 59.85 percent That number increased until a Thursday afternoon count showed 60 percent of the voters approved the bond.

After Thursday’s count, there was exactly 60 percent approval, with not a vote to spare. After Monday’s count, there were 49 votes over the 60 percent minimum.

Even though the approval rate continues to rise, school officials are cautious and want to see more votes counted before they make their next step concerning the new athletic facility.

“It’s looking good but there’s enough votes out there to change the results,” Oak Harbor School District Superintendent Rick Schulte said during Monday’s school board meeting. “I don’t know what the next step is until we know what the result is.”

There is still a significant number of votes that remain to be counted. The Island County Auditor’s office has approximately 4,000 votes left to count, countywide. Another counting session is scheduled for this afternoon, Nov. 16. The election isn’t final until the canvassing board certifies the results on Nov. 29.

Should the number of yes votes remain above 60 percent, then the bond would be approved. It would pay for construction of a new stadium complete with covered bleachers, a competition-quality track and a football field with an artificial surface at Oak Harbor High School. Plans also call for renovation of the fields and tennis courts surrounding the high school. Construction of the new facilities could be complete in September 2007.

The school district got a lot of community support for the athletic facility. In addition to the Citizens for Better Schools efforts to promote the bond, the Rotary Club raised more than $400,000 to help offset costs for the new stadium.