A pair of public measures failed to pass in a special election held in the Mid-Prairie School District Tuesday. Residents in the district did not approve $26.3 million in general obligation bonds to build, furnish and equip additions to the existing school facilities including a high school auditorium, middle school gym, locker rooms, and wrestling and weight room additions to the indoor practice facility. The auditorium was the biggest ticket item, with a cost of approximately $13 million, nearly half of the total proposed bond monies. They also voted down raising the Debt Service Levy by $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed value. Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider spoke with KCII News to review the vote, public information campaign and shared what’s next for the district. “The system works. You put together a proposal and then you go out and inform the public and they have the opportunity to say either yes or no. The majority of the voters were in favor of it, but in Iowa you need a super majority. Prior to the pandemic, we would have been able to complete all of the projects on the list without a tax increase. One of the difficulties was to talk about the reason why we needed to raise the Debt Service Levy and also to inform the public about all of the projects. From the districts perspective, I think we did an outstanding job of informing the public. What they may not understand is the district can not encourage people to vote yes. The school board has not met since the vote. I’m assuming this will be on the agenda. Even though the bond issue didn’t pass, we have immediate needs that need to be addressed.”

Both measures needed a super majority of 60% to pass. The $26.3 million bond received 56.3% approval and the Debt Service Levy increase had 55.8% approval from voters in Washington, Johnson, and Iowa counties. Total cost for all of the projects listed is $37.6 million with the difference made up by monies publicly and privately raised and donated. Election results are unofficial until a canvassing by the Washington County Board of Supervisors.