The Smyrna School District’s two-part tax referendum fails.
The district asked residents to support increasing property taxes to cover additional operating and capital expenses. It would have cost the average resident an additional $278 per year.
Both requests were rejected.
The operating ask sought to raise around $5.5 million a year to hire constables and deliver mental health supports in every school building while offering competitive salaries, and funding technology and extracurriculars at the new middle school.
It was defeated by a 309-vote margin with 1,962 ballots cast.
The capital request failed by 205 votes.
It looked to deliver $37.5 million for capital projects voters already approved in 2021, but now face added costs due to inflation.
Those capital projects are a new intermediate school on Rabbit Chase Lane, the expansion and conversion of Clayton Intermediate School to Clayton Middle School, and the expansion of North Elementary School.
In a statement, district officials said they are “determined to press forward” and plan to “reflect, regroup, and reevaluate their next steps.”
