As most people know by now, voters in the Auburn School District approved the district’s four-year maintenance and operations levy by a comfortable majority in the Feb. 14 special election.

On the same night, however, the $110 million Auburn High School Construction Bond measure came close but couldn’t quite muster the 60-percent supermajority state law requires for bonds, finishing with 55.2 yes votes, 4.8 percentage points under the mark.

Yet in the final, backward glance at the election on Monday, Auburn School Board members found plenty to be optimistic about.

For one thing, all that stood between building a new Auburn High School and staying with the old in the final tally was about 400 votes. Plus, the measure gathered 14 percent more yes votes than it got in 2009 when the district first put the question to voters.

That’s big stuff.

Thus encouraged, school board members talked informally about placing the measure on the ballot again this year, said Auburn School District Superintendent Kip Herren.

“The board feels like there’s no question that the need at Auburn High School supersedes any other consideration, that the students there, and the teachers there, need the same kind of facility — and a newer facility — like we have at the other comprehensive high schools in the district,” Herren said.

The next ballot opportunities this year are April 17, the Aug. 7 primary and the Nov. 6 general election. Although the board didn’t set a date, it has agreed to let the March 1-for-April 17 deadline pass. For one thing, the district does not want to compete with the City of Auburn’s bond measure for roads, which goes to voters April 17. Also, the district would not have time between now and then to complete a strategic analysis of the recent election.

“We need time to analyze those results and run focus groups and find out how we can get those 400 or 500 yes votes,” Herren said.

District officials are aware that some supporters will be wary of putting the measure on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, where it would compete not only with the presidential election but with various referenda and initiatives. But, Herren noted, the district has passed capital improvements levies on general election ballots before.

“The board is going to move forward,” Herren said. “If we do it this school year, we can still stay on time with the project, and still deliver it without a tax increase. Those are high priorities.”

King County certified the election results Tuesday.