Smith Valley voters reject $6M school bond

Voters in Smith Valley School District overwhelmingly rejected a $6 million bond issue in a mail-ballot election that ended Tuesday.

According to unofficial results, 161 people, about 29 percent, voted for the bond and 392 people, about 70 percent, voted against the bond issue.

Out of 1,175 ballots mailed to registered voters 561 were cast. Eight ballots were rejected.

The bond issue would have funded a renovation and expansion project to address the school district’s “growth pattern” over the next 20 years, according to Smith Valley School District Principal Laili Komenda.

The bond would have raised annual property taxes by $448.82 on a home with an assessed value of $200,000.

Komenda said the district will now reconvene and decide what the next steps will be.

“We will continue to do everything we can to offer the best education possible for our students. We have been ‘making do’ with inadequate space for a few years, and we will add some more notches to our already tightened belt.”

Putting another bond issue before voters remains an option.

“We will need to regroup, and make decisions on whether to run another bond, for a lesser amount, and when to do so if that is the direction we want to go,” Komenda said, but may cover less ground in planning for future growth.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.