MASON COUNTY — After already being rejected twice, Mason County Central Schools is once again asking voters to approve a bond proposal.
Mason County Central Schools held a community meeting Wednesday night to go over the changes they’ve made to the proposal.
Over the past two years voters have rejected two bond proposals, first rejecting a $34 million proposal in 2022, then a $31 million proposal in May of this year. However, Mason County Central Supt. Jeff Mount is trying to stay optimistic.
“The last time the [district] passed a bond it took a third time,” Mount said.
This time school administrators have decided to split the bond in half. The first bond costs $17,930,000 and the second costs $16,130,000.
Mount said they want to give voters a choice and says the core of the package is in proposal one.
“That’s our safety and security and other campus upgrades,” Mount said.
Proposal one would add new safety measures and refurbish areas of the school that haven’t been touched since the school was built in 1959. Mount said it’s the most important out of the two proposals.
“The essential need is safe and secure entrances to our buildings. Right now, when we buzz them in because they look good on camera and in an office that’s 50 feet away, they then have access to the whole building,” Mount explained.
The second proposal would add a new addition to the school that would see a new office and auditorium installed. Mount admitted they wanted to make that portion its own proposal because of mixed messages he heard from the public.
Voters with a home at a taxable value of $100,000 are already paying an extra $20 a month in taxes from the previous bond. If just prop 1 passes that will cost an extra $6.67 a month, if just prop 2 passes that will cost an extra $12.25 a month. If they both pass it will cost voters with a home at a taxable value of $100,000 an extra $18.92 a month.
“It’s old it looks old, and it needs to be refreshed. Our kids deserve to learn in an environment with modern equipment and modern furnishings,” Mount said.
