CHARLESTON -- Voters in Charleston Tuesday turned back a 70-cent increase in the school district tax levy that would have funded a new junior high school building.
A $3.7 million junior high building was planned to replace the one that burned in May. Twenty-nine cents of the increase would have gone toward upgrading earthquake safety measures in the present school buildings.
Voters defeated both measures by just over 20 percent.
Superintendent Bill Bacchus said the new school year begins Aug. 22, when junior high school students will be housed in temporary quarters. "We don't have a problem for next year," Bacchus said of the temporary quarters.
He said he thought funding for the school building would be approved by voters.
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.