Concord Schools referendum fails

 

CONCORD, Ind. -- The Concord Community Schools referendum failing to pass in Tuesday night's special election.

The district says it would have funded school operations and salaries and would have even lowered the tax rate for homeowners in the school district, from forty-and-a-half cents per $100 of property value, to thirty-two cents.

In some precincts, there was a lack of voter turnout: no one from the 14th precinct's 107 registered voters came out to cast a ballot, and only one individual from the 16th precinct voted.

The final vote was tight- the No's edging out the Yes's by a margin of only 76 votes.

Concord Superintendent Dan Funston issued a statement last night expressing disappointment:

“While we were hoping for a different outcome today, we must always plan for all possible outcomes… If cuts have to be made, it may cause our class sizes to be larger than normal.”

Without the referendum funding, Concord property taxes might now see an increase if the school requires more funding to continue offering its services and education. 

Some concord residents who voted no felt the school wasn't going to spend the money wisely— but have expressed sympathy for the teachers, who they understand are going to feel more pressure from the larger class sizes. One woman, who declined to go on camera, told us that she didn't want to see the teachers lose out on the referendum vote, but couldn't support it and voted no. 

The referendum that is currently in place, voted in 2014, will expire this December.