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Kila Voters Turn Down School Bond Request
Kila School District
Kila-area voters shot down the Kila School District’s $2.1 million bond request Tuesday.
Taxpayers voted 359 to 142 to reject the bond request. Ballots were mailed out to the district’s approximately 1,000 voters in early May, and were due back at the school by June 2. With 501 responses, more than half the district’s voters weighed in on the decision.
In a mail-in ballot, a simple majority decides the issue, and there are no minimum voter turnout requirements.
School officials were requesting the bond for an 11,423-square-foot expansion and remodel project. The physical improvements were needed, they said, to respond to enrollment growth – up 25 percent over the last decade to 152 students in grades K-8 – and outdated facilities.
If approved, the bond would increase annual taxes by about $181 on a home with a taxable market value of $99,000. A home with a taxable market value of $198,000 would see its taxes increase by about $363.
The school district had already floated building reserve levies, meant to save up funds for an eventual remodel, in 2006 and 2007. Both failed.
“All we can do if this goes down is continue to Band-Aid,” Superintendent Renee Boisseau said in an interview last month.
Previous Coverage: Kila Voters to Decide on $2.1 Million School Bond
Taxpayers voted 359 to 142 to reject the bond request. Ballots were mailed out to the district’s approximately 1,000 voters in early May, and were due back at the school by June 2. With 501 responses, more than half the district’s voters weighed in on the decision.
In a mail-in ballot, a simple majority decides the issue, and there are no minimum voter turnout requirements.
School officials were requesting the bond for an 11,423-square-foot expansion and remodel project. The physical improvements were needed, they said, to respond to enrollment growth – up 25 percent over the last decade to 152 students in grades K-8 – and outdated facilities.
If approved, the bond would increase annual taxes by about $181 on a home with a taxable market value of $99,000. A home with a taxable market value of $198,000 would see its taxes increase by about $363.
The school district had already floated building reserve levies, meant to save up funds for an eventual remodel, in 2006 and 2007. Both failed.
“All we can do if this goes down is continue to Band-Aid,” Superintendent Renee Boisseau said in an interview last month.
Previous Coverage: Kila Voters to Decide on $2.1 Million School Bond
Lisa and most of the “yes” voters are missing the point. We do agree the school needs improvements. However the issue is with increased taxes and government waste, including federal mandates for schools. My pay has not gone up since 2005. Most people working “real” jobs in the private sector…
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