Posted on 02/10/2002 1:29:10 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Voters in the Humble Independent School District turned out in record numbers Saturday to decide the fate of a $217 million bond proposal that still hung in the balance at press time.
The bond package see-sawed between defeat and victory during the vote tallying. With early voting and two boxes -- the curriculum building in Humble and Foster Elementary in Kingwood -- counted by press time, the bonds for new construction were being defeated by a narrow margin.
Proposition 1, which included $209 million for school construction, was losing 2,671 to 2,221; while Proposition 2, which covered refinancing $7.16 million in outstanding debt, was passing 2,509 to 2,279.
More than 11,000 ballots were cast in this election which is three times what was cast in the last bond election, school officials said. As a result, returns were delayed when three polling spots ran out of punch-card ballots and had to resort to using paper ballots that had to be hand counted.
"It's the biggest voter turnout that I can remember. There has been a lot of interest shown and you can see signs of it everywhere. A lot of information has been handed out and letters written to local newspapers," said Cynthia Ridgeway, a homeowner from the Walden subdivision who opposed the bond issue.
Although it was the largest bond proposal in the district's history, it did not include funding for a fourth high school that bond opponents believe is long overdue.
The bond proposal, if approved, would add as much as 6 cents to the district's current tax rate of $1.74 per $100 valuation.
What has angered many opponents is that they could have to wait 10 years before a fourth high school is built to relieve overcrowding at Humble High School. The district's two other existing high schools are Kingwood High School and Quest High School, an alternative school with a self-paced program.
Stand Up for Kids, a grass-roots group fighting the bond proposal, supports smaller high schools where students have more opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and more individual attention.
Bond issue supporters note that $31 million has been earmarked for construction of a ninth-grade campus in the Atascocita area.
District officials say they plan to propose a new bond issue in six to 10 years to expand the campus in the Atascocita area to turn it into the fourth high school.
Other items in the proposed bond issue include:
· $30 million for renovations at Humble and Kingwood high schools.
· $20 million for a new 10th-grade wing at Kingwood High School.
· $23 million for two new elementary schools.
· $31 million for renovations at the district's middle and elementary schools.
· $20.5 million for technology improvements.
· $26 million for operating expenses.
·$5.7 million for an instructional support center.
· $8.7 million for inflationary costs.
Meanwhile across town: Galveston's school bond plan falls short--"I think it's a great victory for the schoolchildren of Galveston," said Elizabeth Beeton, spokeswoman for a group called Taxpayers Against Higher Taxes for Poorer Education. "I think we'll keep three neighborhood middle schools now, and I think it will cause the school board to recognize how important the voters consider neighborhood schools to be."
Feb. 10, 2002, 9:01PM Humble bond proposal fails in record vote -- Three polls forced to use hand ballots -- By CINDY HORSWELL [Full Text] In a record vote that required hand-counting ballots, taxpayers in the Humble Independent School District soundly defeated a $217 million bond proposal.
More than 10,000 ballots were cast, three times more than the last bond election, said school spokeswoman Karen Collier. Returns were delayed Saturday when three polling spots ran out of punch-card ballots and had to use paper ballots that required hand-counting.
When the vote count was completed around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, unofficial returns showed Proposition 1, which would have allotted $209.4 million for school construction, was trounced by a vote of 6,392 to 3,924. Proposition 2, which covered refinancing $7.6 million in outstanding debt, also was rejected, but by a closer vote -- 5,472 to 4,619.
Election observers said that although this was the largest bond proposal put before Humble school residents, its failure may have come about because it did not include funding for a fourth high school that many believe is long overdue.
"This is a big win for the future high school student of our district. We have a mandate that sends a strong message to the district and the board," said George Fastuca, a bond-issue opponent. "The voters were standing in line, and they want to be heard."
Opponents were angered at the possibility of having to wait 10 years before a fourth high school was built to relieve crowded conditions at Humble High School.
The district's two other high schools are Kingwood High School and Quest High School, an alternative school with a self-paced program.
Stand Up for Kids, a grass-roots group that fought the bond proposal, supports smaller high schools where students have more opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and more individual attention.
Bond issue supporters noted that $31 million has been earmarked for construction of a ninth-grade campus in the Atascocita area.
District officials say they plan to propose a new bond issue in six to 10 years to expand the ninth-grade campus in the Atascocita area to turn it into the fourth high school.
The bond proposal, had it passed, would have added as much as 6 cents to the district's current tax rate of $1.74 per $100 valuation, school authorities said. [End]
It's great to see the record turnout and voters just saying NO to educrats and tax increases.
Organized opposition in the Raleigh area defeated one 4-to-1. General public anger defeated another in Greensboro 2-to-1. Administrators and school boards are finding that the peasants are no longer compliant.
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