By a margin of about 3-to-1 in a light turnout, Santa Fe school district voters on Tuesday approved renewal of a mill levy expected to generate about $12.7 million annually from property taxes over the next six years.

Among other uses, revenues from the 2-mill levy will be used to update technology, buy computers, improve libraries, provide playground and physical-education equipment and musical instruments, as well as perform minor repairs to existing school facilities.

The levy, which can't be used to pay salaries of school employees, also provides a source of funds for emergency maintenance at school sites.

While local and state charter schools will receive some of the money, close to 89 percent of it will go to Santa Fe Public Schools.

Denise Lamb, chief deputy clerk for the Santa Fe County Clerk's Office, said that while there are roughly 92,000 registered voters in Santa Fe County, only some 78,000 are registered within the Santa Fe Public Schools' district and therefore were eligible to vote Tuesday.

Normally, school board elections bring out 5 percent of voters, she said. School bond elections such as Tuesday's usually draw even less attention, she said.

According to Lamb, Tuesday's levy election garnered 3,844 votes -- 2,893 in favor of the levy and 951 against. As of about 9 p.m. Tuesday night, the results from all 26 precincts were in, though Lamb said, "There are still a few provisional votes not yet counted that cannot possibly affect the outcome."

District Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez said via email Tuesday night, "I am very grateful to our community for supporting our schools with this very important election." She said approval of the 2-mill levy "will allow us to continue to properly maintain our facilities, make some very significant technology upgrades, replace our worn-out activity buses, and allow each site to have some funds for furniture, equipment, technology and projects specific to individual school communities."

Board member Linda Trujillo said, "Our board is committed to using this funding in the most cost-effective way that benefits our students."

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.