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Proposed New Hugo High School

November 2005

Location of proposed high school

Hugo voters reject new High School concept

The Hugo Daily News
By ZACH MAXWELL
Staff Writer

Eight in 10 voters rejected Hugo Schools’ proposal to build a new high school east of the city, during last week's special school bond election.

A total of 1,592 voters took part in Tuesday’s election, with 1,312 of them (82.4 percent) voting against the bond issue. Only 280 voters, or 17.6 percent, were in favor of the bond passage.

Superintendent Jim Washburn was optimistic but realistic in the wake of the landslide defeat of the $6.56 million bond issue.

“I was very proud of the turnout, but I wasn’t proud of the results,” he said Wednesday morning. “People have clearly given a message that they don’t want a school built east of town. But people should not be upset or down. We have a good school system. I didn’t take this as a personal attack on me or our school. We’ve never been through this process in the history of our school.”

Board President Todd Parker declined to comment Wednesday about the election, other than to say he was “disappointed.”

Washburn said the board and Hugo community must face the problems at the high school in the near future. He said building issues such as a bathroom shortage, small classrooms, HVAC issues and a lack of science labs “will have to be addressed.”

“I think a lot of progress has been made,” Washburn said. “It made me feel good that 1,600 people showed up to the polls and voted. The public has given the board, administrators, teachers and students a clear direction that they want to keep the school in town, more specifically right where it’s at.”

He said there would be no major reconstruction at the current campus without a bond issue, and said he wasn’t ready yet to discuss a “Plan B.”

“We have several options,” Washburn said. “We need to look at and weigh all the options. We haven’t resolved the problem. We still have issues with the building that we have to address. We need to come back to the table and talk openly.”

He said he would not recommend to the board to purchase the land at US 70 and State Highway 93 now that the bond issue has been rejected. He estimated the school will recapture about $4,000 of the $5,000 escrow payment to secure the site. He said the school spent “a couple thousand dollars” on the pictures of the artist’s rendering of the proposed school, and the architect and financial advisor Marshall Hawkins would not be paid since the bond issue was defeated. Washburn also said all political ads leading up to election day were paid from donations, and no school funds were used.

Up next, Washburn said, would be addressing safety issues at the 90-year-old high school campus. He said the district also needs to look into new baseball and softball fields, added parking, an auditorium, science labs and basketball facilities.

Vote Synopsis:
Precinct 104 (Soper): 0 yes, 1 no.
Precinct 105 (South Central Comm. Ctr.): 22 yes, 102 no.
Precinct 106 (Nazarene Church): 20 yes, 133 no.
Precinct 208 (Goodland): 25 yes, 92 no.
Precinct 210 (Shoat Springs): 24 yes, 130 no.
Precinct 214 (Washington Comm. Ctr.): 22 yes, 128 no.
Precinct 215 (Boys & Girls Club): 20 yes, 99 no.
Precinct 316 (First Christian Church): 69 yes, 274 no.
Precinct 318 (Messer): 22 yes, 136 no.
Absentee: 56 yes, 217 no.
Total: 280 yes, 1,312 no.