Bond extension passes for Scott City schools

Scott City school district's bond extension was approved by a wide margin in Tuesday's election.

Superintendent Diann Ulmer said 692 people voted for the extension and 258 voted against it. Unofficial results show the percentages at 72.84 percent for what was dubbed Proposition Kids and 27.16 percent against.

The proposal asked whether $1.75 million should be issued to update school buildings and make them more secure.

With its passage, the district's tax rate will remain at 49 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

After being a bit apprehensive about the outcome, Ulmer said she was excited about the results.

A committee called Scott City Prop Kids, chaired by local businessman Ron Pratt, first met in April to look at what could be done with the money if the bond passed.

"I'm very appreciative of ... our committee working to get this passed," Ulmer said. " ... Between signs, phone calls and social media, they attended all those different functions, they put in a lot of time to get it passed and it's really paid off for the school district."

Tom Pisarkiewicz, vice president of L.J. Hart & Company, the Scott City district's financial adviser, said the money could be available as early as January 2015 if the district wants them.

Ulmer said she waited until the community approved before taking steps to move forward. After receiving official results from the county, the school board will canvass the vote.

"I'm just really excited that the community support is there," Ulmer said, adding Scott County's turnout was "great" on Tuesday.