UPDATED at 12 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2024
CHAMPAIGN — On Tuesday, voters in the Mahomet-Seymour area decided they did not want to pay for new elementary and junior high school buildings.
According to unofficial Champaign County election results, 54 percent of those who voted were against the referendum.
Mahomet voters rejected two similar plans in 2022. Mahomet-Seymour School Board President Sunny McMurry said she was disappointed in the result. She was hoping this time would be different, because there was more community involvement.
For example, the board wanted to build the junior high on new land, but community members wanted it in the same spot as the current school – even if that meant less space around the building.
“So that’s what this referendum has: the junior high on the current junior high property,” McMurry explained. “That has been a huge positive when I talk to people about what they like about the referendum.”
She said the board does not plan to bring another referendum on the issue.
“I honor and respect the voice of the community through these results. Our board of education has some hard decisions to make going forward that will directly impact the educational environment of our students, but we will do everything we can to put student learning needs first,” McMurry said.
The student population in the school district has been steadily increasing. Now, the current Mahomet-Seymour Junior High and Lincoln Trail Elementary are each at least 100 students over capacity, according to Superintendent Kenny Lee.
“We have teachers who are on carts. We’ve got spaces that are used for various things that they weren’t built for, like custodial closets, things like that,” Lee said.
The referendum would have allow the district to raise $112.8 million by selling bonds. It would mean someone who owns a home worth $100,000 would pay $320 more in property taxes per year.
Lee said the other options were to add mobile classrooms, increase class sizes or have more teachers migrate between classrooms on carts.
Other school referenda
At least 20 school boards across the state were hoping to raise money to build or renovate schools on Tuesday’s ballot.
These bond referenda have only been approved about half of the time over the past decade, according to the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Arthur Community Unit School District 305 was trying to raise almost $25 million to renovate its high school. In an informational video about the referendum, the district said the high school was cramped, often too hot and was not accessible for students with disabilities.
Thomasboro Community Consolidated School District 130 had a tax increase on the ballot. The increase would generate about $388,000 more in revenue for the district per year. In a message to families, Superintendent Bonnie McArthur said voters had not approved a tax increase in over 30 years.
Of the three school districts in central Illinois asking for tax increases, Mahomet-Seymour is the largest with over 3,000 students.
Mahomet-Seymour and Thomasboro are both located in Champaign County. Arthur CUSD 305 spans Champaign, Coles, Douglas, Moultrie and Piatt counties.
Emily Hays is a reporter for Illinois Public Media.