NICKERSON, Kan. — With the USD 309 bond issue going down to defeat in Tuesday’s election the question is where does the district go from here?
Patrons soundly defeated the $29.9 million proposal in Tuesday’s election 1,613 no votes to just 413 yes. Interim Superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stroh says she wants to meet with the board to see where things go from here “I talked to a few board members this morning and really need to talk to the entire group and their feel for what they want to do.”
Many in the district were not against a bond issue, there were those who felt it was simply too much of a tax increase and too long of a bond issue. One of them was Pat Hinke who was with the group opposing the bond issue. He was happy with the results but like Stroh wants the bond to move forward again.
“There was one new board member elected last night so I think the new board needs to be seated,” Hinke said. “Once we get a full board again I would hope and encourage them to move forward with some sort of a bond again as soon as they can. Hinke feels that any bond issue will have to be significantly less than the one defeated Tuesday night.
“I think we’re going to have to be above 15 (million dollars)but as hard as we campaign under 20 we’ll have to stay under 20,” Hinke said. “We may not be able to cover all of our bases at that point, but I think between that and a well-planned capital outlay we can fix everything that needs to be fixed.”
For the district, it’s taking a step back and seeing what may have worked and what didn’t with the bond proposal.
“When something fails there’s more than a single reason,” Stroh said. “So taking a step back and reviewing whats the root cause and what kinds of things is our public really looking for. This is about our kids’ future, it’s not just a taxpayer issue.”
If approved, the funds would have made major renovations and expansion to South Hutch Elementary School, some minor improvements at Reno Valley Middle School and made improvements to the science lab and auditorium at Nickerson High School.