Many of you may have been following the election results for the CPS Bond Referendum for $53.5 million dollars.
Sadly, the bond issue failed with 57% of voters voting against said bonds and 43% voting for said bonds.
2,683 - Yes Votes
3,566 - No Votes
This bond issue was an attempt to add classroom space for the unforeseeable future and reduce class sizes K-8 as well as our growing demographic populations (i.e. Special Education and EL). The need will still be there and we will continue to pursue a solution to meet the needs of our growing school district.
With increased numbers of housing units, a casino, and strong economic growth, Columbus will need to continue to look toward the future and how we support our students and families. Unfortunately today was not the day.
The district will continue to have conversations with the community and will reach out to the 6,200+ voters (by the way this was the largest voter turnout for a special election) to find out what was good about the proposal, what was an area of concern or clarification, or what was bad about the proposal. We will also be reaching out to those who did not vote and ask the question of why they may have watched instead of engaging themselves in the process.
CPS has spent the last 18 months trying to engage our community with data and possible solutions. We want to bring forth a proposal that our community can rally around to meet the needs of Columbus Public Schools and all students. Unfortunately we know that by waiting the cost will continue to rise and the proposed projects will cost more. This may mean eliminating some of those proposals and focusing on a few, or it could be something completely different. Either way, we will need staff and the community to be engaged in the conversation to help the school district meet the needs of our growing community.
The CPS Board of Education and the school district want to take this time to recognize and thank our strong volunteer group of parents who worked to support this bond election. They were outstanding. Their time and commitment is what we most appreciate, as they put themselves out there for our students and spent endless hours away from their families working to support all students. I hope that in the future we can tap into their resources and energy once again for a potential new proposal.
CPS truly believes that strong schools lead to a strong community. The community's engagement will continue to be key in the next steps in developing a K-12 solution. The needs are real and are not going away.
Dr. L