FORT MADISON, Iowa -- Voters rejected a $27 million school bond issuance Tuesday that would have been used to build, furnish and equip a new elementary school and a softball and baseball field.
Though the majority of the 2,727 votes in the unofficial count Tuesday evening were in favor of the bond at 55.8 percent, it required approval of 60 percent plus 1 to pass.
Members of the school board and Kids Committee, the group that has been campaigning for the bond, gathered at the Atlas Restaurant and Steak House in Fort Madison to watch as the votes were tallied a second time for the same bond, which went to vote for rejected a bond for the same amount and intent in December by a 756 to 714 vote.
Voter turnout nearly doubled from the first vote, something Superintendent Erin Slater attributed to increased social media presence and a push for absentee ballots, which were up from about 200 in December to more than 800.
"I think we still whole-heartedly believe in the question that was asked, and so the board will reconvene, the community will reconvene and we'll figure out what our next steps are, because Fort Madison is not doing what's best for kids," Slater said after the ballots were tallied.
She said the committee will reconvene with the board of education, community leaders and others engaged in the referendum to discuss how to "provide what's next best for students."
"We firmly believe that the buildings we have at our elementary schools are inadequate for space and facilities, handicapped accessibility, technology and flexibility spaces," Slater said.
She did not say for certain whether those steps would be another election for the same bond or another for a different amount to renovate the Lincoln and Richardson elementary schools.
Renee Ehlers, head of the Kids Committee, had prepared a victory speech and was at somewhat of a loss for words, but did say the committee will continue to work to do what's right for the students.
"It was very sad and disheartening that we were at 55 percent, we were this close," she said, gesturing with her thumb and index finger. "It's unfortunate people didn't believe in our kids."
Ehlers said the plan from the beginning had been to put a renovation bond up for vote if the construction bond failed for a second time. The cost to renovate the school is estimated at $34 million.
Ehlers has two children, one of whom is a second-grader at Lincoln Elementary School. The other is in fifth grade.
She said the fact the school is multi-tiered makes some areas inaccessible to handicapped students. The lack of air conditioning has resulted in a record number of early-out days at the elementary school due to high temperatures, and the teachers have not been able to use the iPads and Chromebooks the school board purchased to their full potential because the buildings' wiring and outlets don't allow teachers to keep them charged.
"We have to invest in our children now," Ehlers said, emphasizing the ever-growing use of technology in classrooms.
Prior to learning the results, Kids Committee member Teresa Guzman said a new, up-to-date elementary school would help Fort Madison grow by attracting more people to the area. She also expressed concern for student safety in regards to the schools' nonsecure entryways.
"We need to protect our youth, and unfortunately that's what our society has come to, so we need to step up our game," she said.
The new building would have been build next to the middle school, which sits alone atop the school district's 95-acre parcel at Bluff Road and 48th Street.
