(Marion) – Marion ISD voters have turned down yet another bond issue. The voters on Tuesday said no to a $50 million bond issue that was proposed at zero cents. That means, had been approved, the bond issue would not have increased the current tax rate.
Voting against the bond were 2,078 voters. Only 1,412 voters were in favor of the plan.
The district endured the same fate this past spring when voters turned down a $39.3 million bond issue for enhancements, particularly at the high school. This latest bond called for similar renovations at the high school along with safety and security measures needed across the district.
Disappointed by the results was Marion ISD Superintendent Dr. Don Beck, who accepts partial blame for not ensuring voter confidence.
“The voters spoke. There’s a lot of them that voted this time around being a November election, and the one thing you can look at –– the gap did narrow a little bit. So, one thing I feel I need to do is get more of the voters out there and get the message out to them. Obviously, I didn’t reach enough of them,” said Beck.
He believes one of the other challenging pieces was the language used on the ballot item that still referred to the item as a tax increase, although this bond, again, had no impact on the tax rate.
“I think that’s part of it, and then just the language on the ballot is confusing –– that the legislature put on there. But it’s one of those things, just more education and really and truly just to show the needs, and if this is what the community didn’t think were needs for the district, then we either need to communicate that better or better articulate what needs are needed to move forward,” said Beck.
Beck says although voters turned down this latest effort to accommodate future growth and to secure its buildings, it will not prevent the district from looking down the road in hopes of finding solutions to its pending needs.