IRSD expense referendum denied by district residents

The results are in for the Indian River School District’s proposed tax increase and it was a very close one. District residents marked their votes until 8 p.m. tonight on the district’s expense referendum.

Residents have decided against the proposed tax increase of 49 cents per $100 of their property value. Although, it was no land slide with 3,321 votes for the tax increase and only 30 more against it with 3,251 votes.

The tax would have increased revenue by $7,350,000 and that money would have gone towards various school expenses like school safety, textbooks, and mostly student growth within the district. But by doing so, it would have also increased the average district taxpayer’s annual property tax by $93.41.

A representative from IRSD provided 47ABC with the following statement from Dr. Bunting:

“While disappointed, we respect the wishes of our public and the workings of the democratic process. In the coming weeks, we will go back to the drawing board to re-evaluate our needs and formulate strategies to accommodate our rapid growth in student enrollment. The Board of Education will consider many options, including the possibility of another referendum in 2017. We thank the public for its past support of our schools and assure residents that we remain committed to providing their children with the best education possible.”