Politics & Government

Rockwood School District's $38.4M Proposition S Results

VIDEOS: Rockwood voters on Tuesday decided the fate of Proposition S, a $38.4 million no-tax rate increase bond issue, after several months of many public debates about its timing, focus and amount.

A four-sevenths, or 57.14 percent, majority was necessary for passage of Proposition S on April 2 among voters in the Rockwood School District. Prop S was offered as a $38.4 million no-tax rate increase bond initiative that focused on safety, technology and school improvements.

The proposition was not passed by voters in Tuesday's election, by a 52.98 percent (9,256 votes) against or NO versus 47.02 percent (8,214 votes) for or YES. That's a difference of 1,042 votes.

Rhonda Costa, chair of the "Yes on Prop S" committee, said committee members were most surprised at the degree of negativity that kept boomeranging back.

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"Every time we tried to move forward, the conversations and focus seemed to drag us back. How can we focus on what our students need if we don't move forward?" she said.

Costa and approximately 25 committee members gathered at the The Corner Pub & Grill in Ballwin Tuesday evening to monitor voting results.

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Marty McClimens, a Eureka parent and president of the Rockwood Labors Club, said toward the end of the committee gathering that he was afraid Rockwood students now will become the "collateral damage" in the future, due to what has happened in the district within the past year.

Rockwood board director Bill Brown, at the same gathering, said he hoped the parents who worked so hard on the committee would not "sour on the system."

"This is strictly on us as board members. This is strictly up to us to fix it," said Brown.

"We will get it right. Thursday night, at the next board meeting you will see changes, and a different attitude from the top down. We will regain the respect of Rockwood's people."

Last April, not enough Rockwood voters supported a similar bond issue, Proposition R:  Rockwood Voters Reject School Bond Measure

Rockwood student priorities encompassed by this bond initiative were identified a few months ago through Picture Rockwood, a citizen-led community engagement process.

The referendum would not have required an increase to the district’s current debt service tax rate of 68 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of real and personal property, stated Rockwood representatives.

In general, Prop S was about:

  • Providing for safety modifications, such as security cameras, door-locking systems and check-in centers at school entrances.
  • Updating computers and networks to accommodate for increased usage by students.
  • Repairing and renovating existing schools to maintain the district’s investment in facilities and buildings.

Clicke here to view the entire Prop S project list

Rockwood Stakeholders for Real Solutions, or RS for RS, issued the following statement about today's election:  "Today is for the Rockwood Stakeholder's (taxpayers and parents) turn to speak through their vote."

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