Guthrie Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson
Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson released a statement after a failed $2.4 million bond election for Guthrie Public Schools on Tuesday evening.
A super majority of sixty percent was needed to pass the bond, but the school district received 52.5 percent yes votes to 47.5 percent no votes or 3,112 to 2,810 votes.
Voters decided against capital improvements, including roofs for three school buildings, technology and repairs to the high school track.
The $2.4 million would have been spread out over 24 months through property taxes within the school district’s boundaries.
“Obviously we are disappointed in the outcome of the election, but we respect the wishes of the voters in the Guthrie Public School district. One of the goals in this election was to raise the interest and understanding of the needs we have as a school district with our patrons. The interest was at an all‐time high on votes cast and especially yes votes cast in GPS history. A lot of the credit goes to an outstanding group of community members who worked tirelessly to raise this interest. The optimist in me says more yes votes were cast than ever before in a GPS bond issue by over 1,200.”
Simpson went on to say.
“While we accomplished the task of generating interest, the needs for our students remain. We still have roofs that leak, outdated technology, and heat and air units which will become even more of a maintenance drain. Whatever solution we attempt will now cost our district and ultimately our patrons more money. This ultimately saddens me for our students and staff.”
Related story: Breakdown on how each precinct voted in the Guthrie school bond issue
So sorry to hear this.
Extend the term of the bond to four or five years. Home owner’s taxes would raise a smaller amount. Too many fixed incomes in Guthrie.
Why don’t we up the sales tax, where everyone pays and not just the property owner!!!!!
Peggy, unfortunately I think that a school district has no other tool in the “toolbox” when it comes to raising revenue through taxes. The school district is a separate political entity from the City, a good example being Edmond Schools which stretches up into Logan County outside of Edmond City limits.
Also, I don’t like the framing of this issue as “voters are against capital improvements”. Actually, voters were against *borrowing money* above and beyond the current building fund allocations to pay for said capital improvements. Now, if the building fund is not sufficient to pay for the larger repairs being proposed, that is an issue that needs to be addressed, but saddling the District with a significant debt to do it doesn’t seem like the best way to achieve this.