After months of researching, public forums and reaching out to voters, the Southland and LeRoy-Ostrander school district both saw major wins from Election Night results.

Southland had passed its bond referendum with 60.98 percent of the votes saying yes, and 39.02 percent of the vote that said no, and contingent on question one’s passage, question two also passed with 55.30 percent of the vote.

The bond referendum had raised two questions: the first asking voters for a $15.8 million renovation to accommodate Southland Elementary students once the Rose Creek building closes and to help transition them into the middle and high school building in Adams. It also addressed security upgrades and HVAC systems.

The second looked into whether Southland could have a $2.4 million new additional gymnasium that provides additional space for physical education and accommodates more students coming from Southland Elementary with potential spacing issues down the road.

These questions stemmed from the school board’s decision to shut down the elementary school and consolidate campuses together into one centralized building, according to a previous story. Declining student enrollment and declining state funds were cited to be among the main reasons that led to the decision.

LeRoy-Ostrander had passed its operating levy by a narrow margin, with 50.11 percent voting yes and 49.89 percent voting against it. The ballot had asked L-O voters to approve a $494 per pupil increase to its operating levy and the dollars raised to continue to operate the LeRoy Community Pool and provide maintenance for it.

“I’m very happy for both districts and I’m very happy for the residents of both districts,” said Jeff Sampson, superintendent of both Southland and L-O districts. “Both district boards did a great job putting good information for people to make a good decision, and that’s important in the process.”

What next for Southland, L-O districts?

The closing date for Southland Elementary School would have been determined by the passage of the bond referendum. Since it was passed, Sampson stated that next would be for the school board to meet and also have a design phase for the new project. With this project, the school board would need to continue discussions about the tentative time frame for the finished project.

Previously, the school board had stated that the closing of the elementary school could happen at the end of the 2018-19 school year if the referendum didn’t pass, and if it did pass, that the closing would be delayed until the renovation project was finished.

For LeRoy-Ostrander, the school board will now be able to keep the LeRoy Community Pool operating with the stream of funding from the operating levy.

Overall, the wins from the elections was a step forward for both school districts.

“With any question, people will vote for it or vote against it,” Sampson said. “I know some people are happy today, and some are not happy. But, we live in a democracy, and the elections showed the will of the people.”