Bond vote for new schools in Rapid City comes up short

RAPID CITY, S.D. (Rapid City Journal) — A plan to build new schools in Rapid City and upgrade other facilities was thwarted Tuesday when a light turnout of voters who braved poor road conditions rejected a $189.5 million bond issue. A majority of voters favored the issue but it needed 60 percent approval to pass. The Rapid City Journal reports that it wound up with 56 percent support.

Only 23 percent of voters cast ballots in this special election, which followed a Monday winter storm that made driving tricky. If it had passed, the money would gone toward three new elementary schools and one new middle school over six years.