The school board has a regular meeting that night, but director Dave Blake pushed for an earlier determination saying he didn't believe administrators would be able to get the letters to the affected teachers if the decision on cuts is left until Monday night. It was the second time the levy has been defeated during this calendar year. In February the levy received 58.5-percent yes votes.
State law prevents putting a levy before the voters more than twice in a calendar year.
School directors were at a loss following the initial counting of votes as they searched for reasons why the levy was defeated for a second time. School board director Elna Kawal sees the defeat as a vote against property taxes rather than education. Director Mic Sager agreed. Michael Joyner said he was disappointed at the results. I think it would have passed by 8 to 10 percent last year.