NRHEG voters say ‘No’ to facility referendum

Voters in the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva School District overwhelmingly said ‘No’ to a $14.5 million project that would have improved facilities at Ellendale and New Richland.
In the June 9 referendum vote, 64 percent voted against the project and 36 percent voted for the project. There were 1,048 total votes. The school district was expecting approximately 1,200 voters.
NRHEG School Superintendent Dr. Goodwin said there is obvious disappointment, but he understands. “I completely get it,” he said. “There was no vote no committee. There was no attacking. I think it flat out came down to what people felt they could afford.”
NRHEG Board chair Rick Schultz was also disappointed in the results. He felt that the school board had done a better job expressing the items on the table. “We will respect and move forward with the public’s decision,” he said. “Immediately after, I was truly disappointed, but I understand NRHEG will still be a strong district and we will do the best possible job we can in educating the children.”
As to possible reasons why it failed, Schultz said maybe it was too large of a project at one time. “Or maybe they’re saying they’re satisfied with the facility we have,” he said.
Goodwin added that he felt people saw the logic in what the school district was trying to do. “I think they were very supportive in what we were trying to do.”
Recently, Ellendale just did a water and street project that raised property taxes and New Richland had a road project that did the same. “Property taxes are already pretty high,” Goodwin said. “This came down to people struggling to afford. People felt it just cost too much.”
Now, Goodwin said the school district will have to put potential projects and additional educational programs on hold.
The school board does not have an alternative plan. “We’re going to step back and digest,” Schultz said. “We really felt sincere and serious with this plan. We will continue to do our work as a board.”
Schultz appreciates the voters getting out and voting. “There is some disappointment in that,” he said. “On the other side, we respect the taxpayers of the district. This time they said no.”