The vote was resounding — and a surprise to organizers on both sides of the USD 417 Morris County school improvement bond issue Tuesday.
Nearly 71 percent of district voters cast ballots against the district’s 30-year, nearly $32 million bond designed to renovate and bring new features to USD 417 schools. Superintendent Tyson Eslinger says the results went directly against previous conversations and survey work.
Also surprised — but for different reasons — was Vote No spokesperson Amy Oleen Naaf. She says there was a “good cross-section” of voters that weren’t represented in the district plan.
In a social media statement, Eslinger said the bond issue identified needs which aren’t going away. As part of his interview with KVOE News, Eslinger faulted what he called “misinformation” as part of the reason the vote went the way it did.
Eslinger also countered a statement indicating the process didn’t emphasize residents in areas outside Council Grove until shortly before the vote, saying those residents had “every opportunity” to get involved. Naaf disagrees.
Naaf says both sides agree there is work needed to improve district schools, and she wants to support the next improvement effort.
Eslinger says changes must happen for Morris County schools. Exactly how those changes happen is now to be determined.
The bond was designed to make a range of improvements and new features for Council Grove Elementary, Council Grove Junior/Senior High and Prairie Heights Elementary, but it also meant a 5-mill property tax increase across all land categories.
6:30 am Wednesday
Voters in USD 417 Morris County decided against supporting a major school improvement bond package Tuesday night.
Nearly 71 percent of voters said no to a $31.5 million bond over a 30-year time period. The official total was 1,217 no votes compared to 507 yes votes.
The bond was designed to make a range of improvements and new features for Council Grove Elementary, Council Grove Junior/Senior High and Prairie Heights Elementary, but it also meant a 5-mill property tax increase across all land categories. Opponents were not happy with the property tax increase, but they were also unhappy with the interest payments — which they stated were more than the total bond amount at around $33 million. No voters say the bond campaign didn’t emphasize voters in places like northwest Lyon, west Wabaunsee or south Geary counties until late in the process.
