Voters Say No, Again: Batavia D101 Bond Issuance Referendum Fails, Unofficial Results Show

BATAVIA, IL — Batavia Public School District 101's referendum seeking a $140 million bond issuance failed for the second time, according to unofficial tallies from the Kane County Clerk's Office.

With the question, officials hoped to secure enough votes to green-light a new set of building bonds to coincide with the retirement of existing debt. The money would have been used to generate funding to replace two defunct schools and renovate all others in the district, Patch reported.

If the referendum would have passed, the school's annual debt payment, and the taxes collected for it, would have remained the same. But since it failed, taxes will go down, according to Superintendent Lisa Hichens, who is set to retire this summer.

RELATED: District 101 Will Try Again To Pass Referendum That Failed By 24 Votes

The same referendum failed by 24 votes in November's election, so district officials decided to try again. But this time, while the answer was the same, the margin was not as small.

Unofficial election totals show 3,966 people, or 54.8 percent, voted no, and 3,271 people, or 45.2 percent, voted yes in Tuesday's election.

Of the 22,291 registered voters in the District 101 service area, 7,263 people responded to the referendum question, according to the clerk's office. That puts its turnout rate at roughly 32.5 percent.

In November, many voters were "unaware, uninformed, misinformed or confused," Hichens said, Patch reported.

To gain votes and increase understanding, district officials employed various outreach tactics, including surveys and community meetings ahead of the election.

Before deciding to place the question on April's ballot, officials said they determined "through hundreds of conversations with individuals and focus groups ... that the majority wanted the question to be placed back on the ballot. Fifty-six percent of respondents to a community-wide survey agreed."