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As of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Mount Vernon Superintendent Kenneth Hamilton announced that with 24 of 26 election districts reporting, they are proclaiming that the bond has passed, unofficially with 2127 “yes” votes against 610 “no votes.”
Taxpayers will incur no tax increase until the 2017-18 school year. Thereafter, the annual tax increase for residents with a home value of $315,000 would average a tax increase of $7.37 each month for the next 20 years, peaking in 2020 with a $12.92 monthly increase.
With the bond passed, officials can now hit the ground running on wide-sweeping improvements under Hamilton’s 20/20 Vision as the district transitions toward a more cohesive “K-8” schools model.
Under the plan, Pennington, Holmes, Traphagen, Lincoln and Columbus would become Pre-K-8 buildings; Williams, Grimes, Graham, Turner and Hamilton would becomes K-8 with the new Parker Early Learning Center for pre-kindergarten programs; with the Turner schools providing a K-5 and 6-8 model.
Hamilton hailed the vote's outcome, calling the collaborative, community-wide effort "historic."
“Tonight was an historic moment for this district in the most positive ways imaginable,” he said. “I would like to take this opportunity to first thank the voters of Mount Vernon, who were so supportive of our 20/20 Vision and this bond. I would also like to thank the many people who helped get this measure passed – including Mount Vernon’s clergy, realtors, elected officials, our own district wide and school PTAs, as well as our district’s administrators, teachers and students.
"Our students will now have every possible academic advantage to become college and career ready, to be able to make a difference in the communities they will live in, and even beyond because of the contributions they will make to our nation. Mount Vernon’s educational transformation continues into the next phase tonight.”
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