After an oh-so-close bond issue election loss, Hillsboro R-3 School District Superintendent Jon Isaacson said school district officials now must carry on without pursuing safety and security measures and other facility improvements.
Proposition KIDS, a $25 million bond issue, needed a four-sevenths (57.14 percent) majority to pass, but fell short with 56.66 percent (2,756) yes votes to 43.34 percent (2,108) no votes during the Aug. 2 primary election, according to the county’s final, official tallies.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed for the students,” Isaacson said. “We wanted to address safety and security issues and will not be able to do that. That includes the front entrance of the high school and the turn lane at the intersection.”
At Isaacson’s request, the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office conducted a recount two days after the election that only slightly altered the result, adding two yes votes.
Elections that are decided by 1 percent or less can be recounted by request. To force a recount in other races, the candidate or entity requesting it must get a circuit court order.
“Since we had our verification team coming in (on Aug. 5), we had a team of two election judges refeed all the ballots into the tabulation machine,” said Jeannie Goff, the chief of staff for the County Clerk’s Office. “It was not much of a problem since we were only talking about 5,000 ballots or so. Had it been a countywide election, we would not have been able to do that so soon.”
Had the bond issue gained the necessary voter approval, Hillsboro R-3 officials intended to build a secure entrance at Hillsboro High School and to install a turn lane on Leon Hall Parkway at Business 21, Isaacson said.
He said the bond issue would have paid for roof repairs and replacement of HVAC units.
Passage of the proposition would not have included a tax increase, but would have extended the district’s bond debt by no more than eight years, from 2037 to approximately 2045, Isaacson said.
The district’s current tax levy is $4.5679 per $100 assessed valuation.
In April, district residents voted down both the $25 million bond issue and a separate proposition that would have allowed the district to shift 40 cents from its bond debt levy to its general operating fund.
Isaacson said he will not recommend that the board place another tax issue before voters in the near future.
“Not at this point,” he said. “My recommendation is not to put anything on the ballot (in the immediate future).”
He said district leaders must plot out a course of action without the bond money.
“It will be discussed with the board, how to proceed on a plan of action for the future,” he said. “We’ve still going to provide a great school,” he said.
Steve Taylor contributed information for this story.