On November 6, the Kingsland referendum was voted down, which brings up the question of what happens now. That question was recently asked of Kingsland board members and the superintendent.
Superintendent James Hecimovich answered, “I think what happens is, at our next working session, in December, is that we’ll discuss do we come back in November (with another referendum). I think there’s a strong consensus that we need to. There seems to be a group already getting organized called Vote Yes for Kingsland, on Facebook. So there seems to be some baseline support… and that’s what we were lacking on the other two referendums.”
He added, “I honestly think that we have to, with our budgets and everything else. I mean we would have to cut so much (if not given an increase in the revenue authorization).” He referred to the challenge of convincing voters to approve a tax increase, stating, “That’s why I think this group that’s forming, called Vote Yes for Kingsland, will be the make-it-or-break-it group for us. If they can get the word out and pound on doors,… we have a darn good chance. It’ll be a challenge; the farm economy isn’t the strongest. But the nice thing is it only impacts a house, a garage, and one acre, for a farmer.” He also mentioned that only a total of 13 citizens attended the two public meetings about the referendum.
Jackie Horsman concurred, saying, “We gotta keep going, right?” She added, regarding the Vote Yes group, “They have posted on (Facebook) that they’re planning to meet, I believe December 11th, for their initial meeting.” The group continues to grow, now with over 160 members.
Hecimovich pointed out that another “selling point” is Kingsland’s new focus on trades programming. He mentioned a recent field trip, in which students got to learn firsthand about jobs in electrical, construction, plumbing, and carpentry. He added, “When they found out what the prevailing wage is, it really turned a lot of heads.”
As shown on the Kingsland school website and/or the Vote Yes for Kingsland page on Facebook, the 2018 referendum was brought up to cover for continuing losses in buying power caused by inflation and inadequate increases in state aid to schools. Among the 10 area schools, Kingsland currently ranks eighth in “per pupil dollars” at $852. The highest school shown is LeRoy-Ostrander, at $2,062 per pupil. If passed, the referendum would have provided roughly $350,000 additional annual funding for operational costs. The estimated impact, on a $100,000 home, would have been around $9 per month.
Because the measure was voted down, Kingsland now is in danger of exhausting the current fund balance by 2020 or 2021. The school also could wind up in a status called Statutory Operating Debt, in which the state takes over some decision making. This could result in larger class sizes and greatly reduced programming for students.
Hecimovich pointed out that the measure failed by 321 votes, needing just a simple majority to pass. Board Chair Doug Plaehn summarized, “We’ll keep moving forward. It’s not the end of the world.” Regarding the recent vote, he said, “Seventy-some percent of the district’s registered voters turned out, but did we get the all informed enough to understand what they’re voting for, or not? That’s always the magical question… It’s the nature of the beast… You do your best to put together what you feel is a good balance between satisfying the educational needs of your students, and what you ask from your taxpayers. And then you go ask.”
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