Montezuma voters reject school tax levy for 2nd time
Poweshiek County Auditor Diana Dawley (right) reads the results of the school bond results on Tuesday April 5th, 2011
Montezuma voters trooped to the polls again on Tuesday to vote on a school tax levy for the 2nd time since September. Preliminary vote totals from the Poweshiek County Auditor’s office show that the issue was defeated after failing to gain the 60% required majority needed in order to be approved. Of those who voted, 523 (56%) voted Yes, and 406 (44%) voted No. The results were a bit of an improvement from last time. In the September vote, only 40% voted Yes and 60% voted No.
After the results were announced. We had time to catch up with some Montezuma residents to discuss the issue. “We think that is a worthwhile project. We are definately in backing of the school. We are not against the school by any stretch of the imagination. We just don’t like the way the bond issue came about. We don’t like the idea of the school, for example, bonding for routine maintenance. We don’t like the idea of the geothermal. A big part of it was the geothermal heating system,” said Hugh Hammond. Hammond was the leader of the organization, Tough Love. Tough Love was a group that opposed the tax levy. “We want to see the school make the improvements. We want to see the school continue as a school. I’m just a little disappointed about some of things that happened in the campaign, such as what I call the Red Herring tactic; implying that the school was going to close if the bond issue didn’t pass. That’s why that election was so close.”
We also had time to catch up with Ed Long. Ed is the owner of Star Lanes in Montezuma. Long was not aware of the outcome of the election when we first stopped to talk to him. When we told him about the results of the election, he said “That’s unfortunate. I want to see the school stay here. I want to keep my bowling alley in this town,” Long also went on to say “No school means no growth. It means decline in my opinion. You look at What Cheer, Deep River, Malcom. All those places declined because they don’t have schools.”
The results of this election are unofficial until the Poweshiek County Supervisors canvass the election.
