Reading the results of Tuesday's votes

I assume it is appropriate to dissect the election results from the school bond issue defeated soundly by Sikeston voters this week.

I supported the bond issue despite my belief that the $33 million price tag was going to provide a substantial challenge for passage.

The challenge simply proved too much at this time for the residents of Sikeston.

Instead of mourning this loss, I see this as an opportunity for the school system and the community as a whole to examine ways to solve problems that are real.

You can obviously argue against the size of this bond issue but you can't argue that the elementary schools in Sikeston are clearly showing their age.

Granted, many residents have pointed out that other school districts operate schools as old as ours and that is simply a fact.

But we all know that someday soon in some way, as a community we must address this issue.

I was honestly surprised that the bond issue failed by such a wide margin and that the proposal was unsuccessful in every voting ward in Sikeston. When voters defeat a measure by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, it simply says the original proposal was flawed and oversized.

But the problem does not go away.

The message was sent and hopefully received. No one wants to pay higher taxes regardless of the merits of the issue.

So where do we go from here?

It's clear the school board will revisit the needs of our schools in the not-too-distant future and will again ask Sikeston voters to support some form of school improvements.

How much, when and exactly where are yet to be determined.

In an attempt to do some Monday morning quarterbacking, I contacted the Poplar Bluff schools this week to see just how they passed a $48 million school proposal.

Here is what I learned.

In Poplar Bluff, school officials engaged local residents as far back as three years ago to discuss a school plan and to seek community input.

Through that process, many of the initial ideas were removed and plans altered.

But beyond that distinction, their efforts mirrored those in Sikeston, i.e. form a committee, communicate with residents, bang on doors, etc.

Maybe in Sikeston we just tried to bite off more than we could chew. It's hard to get any other message from Tuesday's vote.

So stay tuned.