Focusing on ‘next time’
Ontario school bond supporters seek another try with area voters

Ontario School Bond Promotion Committee member Ben Peterson writes down the latest results of the Ontario School Bond during election night, Nov. 4. Supporters of the school bond, which failed, want to bring the issue before voters again as soon as possible.

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Poole suggested May would be the best time because it would not be too far in the distance momentum would be lost.

“My feeling is if we keep moving forward, you won’t lose the momentum that was generated in this last year,” Poole said.

In addition, because of the passage of a statewide ballot measure this past election, the bond measure would not require a supermajority to pass.

Ontario School District Superintendent Dennis Carter told board members they should wait until early next year before approving another bond measure.

He suggested the delay because, once they vote to put forth a bond measure, they are limited in how they can participate based on regulations against spending taxpayer money on things that could be construed as promoting a bond.

Meanwhile, meeting participants agreed the School Board should actively participate in the next steps to another bond. Board leaders deliberately did not participate in the development of the long-range facilities plan and, later, the bond effort as a school board Poole and Peterson recommended they do so this time.

Poole said he thought it was important they learn why people voted no and suggested the board members could address issues that did not directly pertain to the facilities plan, such as discipline issues and standardized test results �” two areas of concern shared with committee members.

“There’s 2,500 people out there somewhere who voted no, and we need to hear back from them,” Poole said.

The School Board members agreed they needed to reach out to the opposition through different means, and, during their regular board meeting Thursday night, they agreed to spend the funds to survey residents in the precincts the bond did not pass in �” the rural areas near Cairo and Pioneer elementary schools.

Those precincts, where historically bonds have failed, are agricultural-based, and the property owners �” farmers and ranchers who may not have children in school �” stand to pay more in taxes.

“We’re not going to solve it for everybody,” Ontario School Board member John Phillips said, adding, the amount of votes needed to be gained, however, is not insurmountable and, by satisfactorily addressing some of the naysayers’ concerns, they might be able to pick up the needed extra votes.

He also said, the School Board could not let the task force and promotional committee’s hard work fall flat after those members “went to the wall” in their effort.

“We have to do just everything we can to make it work,” Phillips said.

While the School Board did not formally come out and say it supported another spring bond measure, the general consensus was favorable toward such an outcome.

“I think there’s a good possibility that we’ll do it, yes,” board member David Cox said after the meeting, adding there are some contingencies to that eventuality, including the economy and survey results.

“If things go to heck in a hand basket from the way things are, we may rethink it,” he said.