Clover voters turn down school district’s $197 million bond referendum. What’s next?
Clover School District residents voted Saturday against passing a $197 million bond referendum.
The bond would have paid for a second high school, an eighth elementary school, and the creation of a third middle school. The district, which passed bonds in 2007 and 2014, insisted the referendum was needed to alleviate congestion at several schools with the growing student population.
The bond, which included a tax increase, became a point of contention among residents. Two vocal groups — one in favor, the other against — placed “Vote Yes” and “Vote No” signs across the Clover area. Those who opposed the bond thought the tax increase, which ranged between 15% to 30%, was too high. While, those who supported the bond argued the tax raise was justified.
Despite the vocal divide, around 22% of the district’s 35,959 registered voters cast ballots in the bond vote, according to the York County elections office.
Of the 7,985 ballots cast, including absentee, about 71%, or 5,635 votes, were against the bond. While, 29%, or 2,350 votes, were in favor, according to unofficial results.
“We appreciate our citizens taking the time to make their voices heard,” Clover School District spokesperson Bryan Dillon said Monday. “That’s a big part of the process. Having them come out and sharing their thoughts is part of it.”
What’s next?
Dillon said the district will work with residents to come up with another plan to relieve the congestion in its schools and address the area’s continual growth.
“As in our presentation, we are a growing community,” Dillon said. “People across the community recognize that, so we’ll get back together. We’ll look at things and try to develop a plan that everyone can support and find the best way to support the students and staff and facility needs within the district.”
As far as next steps, hearing from Clover residents is an important one for the district, Dillon said.
“We’ll definitely have community meetings — our board meetings and our work sessions that we’ve had, town halls that we had prior to this one, focus groups like we had dating back to May before this one,” he said. “We’ll do those sorts of things again and look forward to the community coming and sharing their thoughts.”
Shortly after the vote results came out, several Clover area residents on Sunday were already brainstorming, on social media, alternative plans to address the district’s growth.
“I, first, wanted to thank everyone who voted for the school bond today,” Angela Stahlecker said in a Clover-area Facebook page. “It may or may not have been the outcome you desired, but let’s keep the momentum going and come up with a solution for these kids and teachers that is also favorable for the majority of citizens’ budgets.”
Charlene Ridley suggested the district create a community action committee to come up with a solution.
“Now that the bond vote is done, how can we help CSD come up with a better solution that solves our problem?” Ridley said on Facebook.
York County Council member Allison Love, who represents the Clover and Lake Wylie area, said on Facebook there needs to be a “coming together” in the district. She said she plans to hold a community meeting in October.
“We will all be better off if we can funnel the passion of the past few weeks into some positive solutions for our community,” she said.
The county election’s office will certify the results on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. The hearing is open to the public.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Clover voters turn down school district’s $197 million bond referendum. What’s next?."
