Voters in the Goshen Local Schools district rejected a proposed 5.24 mills bond issue on Nov. 5, 2019.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

A proposed bond issue that would have provided over $30 million in facilities and instructional space upgrades for buildings in the Goshen Local School District failed on Nov. 5.

The 3.24 mills bond, which would have been added to a current 2 mills bond, was defeated at the ballot box 56.89 percent to 43.11 percent, a difference of 404 votes, according to unofficial results.

Goshen superintendent Darrell Edwards said that while the result wasn’t what he had hoped it would be, he knows the Goshen students and staff will continue to thrive.

“I’m disappointed in the results of the election, but I’d like to thank the supporters of our school district,” Edwards said. “I’m proud of the great things that our kids are accomplishing with our staff. I know we have a great school district, and I’m confident our kids will keep doing great things.”

In terms of future plans, Edwards said the district did not yet have the next steps figured out, but he did note that the bond issue’s failure would not result in cuts to programs or staff, since it was just to be used for additional space to adjust for future increases in enrollment.

Among the projects listed on the district website included roughly $21.6 million for additional classrooms and/or redesigned instructional areas in all four buildings, along with $3 million for improvements to traffic flow and sidewalks, among other things.

The bond would have generated roughly $31 million over a period of 34 years, according to a fact sheet provided by the district.

Carrie Wilson, a bus driver for the district who voted for the bond, sees those enrollment increases first hand, and that’s why she chose to support the issue.

“I don’t want to go backward,” Wilson said. “It was a shoo-in. Not only do my kids go to Goshen and I graduated from Goshen, I also work for Goshen schools as a bus driver. I see how much we need the approval to be able to expand and accommodate the growing needs. The district is growing like crazy, and the school has to be able to grow with the district to accommodate the needs of the students.”

Of the four voters interviewed by The Sun who cast a ballot against the bond issue, none wished to have their full name in print. One asked to be identified by only her first name, Sandra. Regardless, those four were united in one belief: No new taxes.

Sandra went into more detail, explaining that she would have been more willing to vote for the bond had she known more about what it would be used for.

The advertisements didn’t tell me enough about where they were going to spend the money,” she said. “We’re retired. We’re on a fixed income. Every tax, it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s only this much,’ but when you add all that up…We can’t afford this. At some point, you end up selling your house because you can’t afford the taxes. We’re in Clermont County now because I got sick of paying Cincinnati taxes.”

Like Sandra, Al Catauro is retried. He voted for the bond because he wanted the district to continue improving.

“We came out here in 1966, and when we came out here the schools were terrible,” Catauro said. “We didn’t have any money and we couldn’t afford to send our kids anyplace else. They have come so far. If it hadn’t been for the people putting the money up then…we’re retired. We have no kids going to the schools, but I’m still for them.”

Sandra had other reasons for voting against the issue. Increases to programs like Medicare, when combined with higher taxes from the bond issue, make it difficult for senior citizens, and without more information on where the money was going, she simply couldn’t support the bond.

“All these things add up, and it’s like they don’t realize that,” she said. “They’re only focused on their one thing. There are things like 3,000 students. How many classrooms do you have? How many students do you have per classroom? That’s not in any literature. This idea of infrastructure? What what are the actual things? These little soundbites don’t get me. I want to know the details.”

Keith Messer voted for the bond issue. He said both he and his mother were against the measure initially, but changed his mind after learning the details of the proposal.

“At first, we were voting no,” Messer said. “It wasn’t going to raise the taxes as much as she thought.”

Moving forward, Edwards said the district will continue performing at a high level as they work with the community to find common ground.

“We’re going to continue to do great things,” Edwards said. “We’ll work together with the community to come up with a solution.”