Kila voters nix $2.1 million bond plan

Taxpayers in the Kila School District overwhelmingly voted down a $2.1 million bond request Tuesday.

Of the 501 voters who took part in the mail election, 359 voted against the bond issue. More than half the taxpayers in the district, which reaches nearly to Niarada, participated in the election.

There were 142 votes in favor of the bond issue.

The election results were disappointing, Principal Renee Boisseau said.

"We're very disappointed," she said. "We are going to regroup and see what our options are at this point."

Options are limited, she added, with an already tight budget and no money for any remodeling.

Had voters approved the bond request, Kila School would have added two classrooms, a science lab, a new library, a new kitchen and a multipurpose room - an 11,423-square-foot expansion.

Boisseau said that while she was glad to see the election's high voter turnout, she wishes more people had attended the informational meetings the school hosted before the ballots were mailed, or had gone to the school's open house.

She estimates about 40 people total attended four or five meetings about the bond issue. Only five went to the open house in May.

"The five people who came the open house … went away very positive, seeing our need," she said.

Some people who attended the meetings told Boisseau they still intended to vote against the bond issue. Some cited the economic recession as the reason, but Boisseau said she isn't sure that the economy is to blame.

"If economics is the reason, then why two years and four years ago did they not vote the building reserve levies in?" she asked.

More than two-thirds of voters opposed Kila's $147,500 building reserve levy request in 2007. A technology levy failed the year before that, and a $52,218 general fund levy failed in 2003.

Voters did approve back-to-back general fund levies totaling $71,094 in 2004 and 2005. Those funds were used for maintenance and repairs and weren't enough for any significant building projects, District Clerk Sharon Leach said.

"It doesn't appear that really the economy makes much difference," Boisseau said. "It's about prioritizing education."

That is what the staff intends to do, she added.

"We're just going to continue to do the best job that we can to educate our students. That's what it's all about," she said. "It just makes it difficult to provide sometimes what [our students'] needs are going to be when we don't have space or science facilities."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com