By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph voters Tuesday rejected a $157 million bond issue proposed by the St. Joseph School District to finance a new high school.
Unofficial results released by the Buchanan County Clerk’s office disclose that 6,081 voters cast ballots against the proposal with only 5,262 voting in favor; a split of 53-46%. The issue would have raised the school tax levy by 60 cents. It needed a 57% majority to pass.
St. Joseph Board of Education Vice President, Mike Moore, says the community missed an opportunity.
“As we think about as a community competing with other regional schools for talent - teachers, staff, coaches; and as we even think about competing with families to move to the community of St. Joseph we’re falling behind, clearly,” Moore tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Moore says the results are disappointing, but not discouraging, though he says it will have an impact on morale.
“Probably more importantly is the message it sends to our kids and our staff,” Moore says. “Talked to a lot of staff tonight (Tue.). They’re very disappointed.”
Moore says the defeat leaves the district with problems that have not been addressed.
“We have serious problems that include completely inequitable academic and activity offerings among the three high schools today,” Moore says. “We have a feeder system that is confusing and makes no sense from elementary to middle to high schools. We have a middle school model that’s inconsistent across the community.”
The proposal to build a new high school in south St. Joseph would have fit with the St. Joseph School District long-range plan to reduce the number of high schools from three to two.
Moore says the school board still intends to carrying out the plan.
“I believe that the votes are there and the commitment is there to move ahead and make those improvements that I talked about even in light of this defeat.”
The school bond issue passed in only four of the 15 precincts with the St. Joseph School District. A bit more than 24% of the registered voters in Buchanan County cast ballots in Tuesday’s elections.
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