Voters reject Batavia school building issue

A proposed 4.2 mill bond issue to build a new elementary school was rejected by Batavia Local School District voters at the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The bond issue would have raised $13.9 million for a $24 million elementary school that was planned for the current high school campus in Batavia Township. The remainder of the $24 million would have come from the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

“This was the lowest-cost option that has been presented to the voters,” school board member Steve Staton said after the vote. “I think that this is represented in how close these results are compared to previous votes. But this is a tough economy, and people are concerned about paying their bills.”

Unofficial results available Tuesday showed the issue failing by about 53 percent to 47 percent.

Staton said that the new board coming in next year will have some tough issues to deal with. He said that the need for a new elementary school is not going to go away, and that the district's operating budget is going to become an issue.

"There are going to be a lot of issues to deal with, not just the bond issue," he said. "The next board will have to deal with the operating budget as well as facilities."