Nearly $4 Million Bond Proposal Fails In Kellyville

A $3.79 million bond proposal failed in Kellyville.

The bond would have made improvements to the campus and athletic facilities.

School leaders are disappointed, especially since it got 54% of the vote, but not 60%, which is necessary to pass.

The proposal would've raised taxes about $25 a year for a $100,000 home.

“My opinion is that if I have to pay 50 more dollars a year on my taxes for our school and our kids, what's 50 more dollars? We waste that on energy drinks and whatever the heck people buy, you know,” Gina Reece said.

Gina Reece owns Da Phat Taco in town. She says improvements to the athletics facilities would be a good thing for her small business, so the district can host more events, and more people will come to town.

“Those people come eat lunch with me, the taxes go back to our town, so for me, it's a good thing,” she said.

The bond would've made different improvements around the district, including fixing sidewalks around campus, adding turf at the baseball, softball, and football fields, and adding a new roof at the high school.

Superintendent Dan Gist says people are more interested in getting a new elementary school, but he says the district can't afford that until 2028, so the board was hoping for these items now and the school later. 

“The board was trying to keep our millage consistent. That way, we wouldn't have a huge drop or great increase at any time, and we were going to be able to do that, but it didn't pass,” he said.

People who voted no told us they simply didn't want to see their taxes go up.

Gist says he understands the worries about a tax increase, but it's still disappointing to see the proposal fail.

“You have to invest in your kids. I know some people don't like to pay taxes, and neither do I, but ultimately, if we don't invest in our kids, we don't invest in our future,” he said.