South Kingstown Voters Overwhelmingly Vote Down School Bond

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — South Kingstown voters overwhelmingly defeated the $85 million school bond in Tuesday's special election.

In total, more than 7,000 South Kingstown voters turned out to cast their ballots. Opposition more than doubled approval, with 5,244 voting no and 1,967 voting yes.

The $85 million bond would have completely reimagined schools in the town, turning Curtis Corner Middle School into the new high school, renovating Broad Rock School to serve as the new middle school and providing some funding for updates to the remaining elementary schools. The town planned to apply for $53.9 million in reimbursements from the Rhode Island Department of Education, leaving the town with a total cost of $63 million, including interest.

The bond was a thorny issue in South Kingstown, with strong opinions on both sides of the issue.

Mary Scott, who described herself as "a lifelong educator," said in a post on Patch that she opposed the plan for several reasons, namely that it was not the best use of the town's money.

"There are some who say they are for this new building because it will create 'a center for green, intellectually stimulating education… for thinking and civic engagement, for a sustainable and an egalitarian world,'" Scott wrote. "Impressive words, however, all of these incredibly important, essential goals are based on programming and excellence in teaching, and not based on a building. If this is now not the case, a building will not change that."

Scott went on to say that the current location of the high school allows students east access to after-school jobs in Wakefield and preserve community access green space and disc golf.

Stacey Bodziony, a spokesperson for the Friends of South Kingstown Schools, also voiced her opinion on Patch, arguing that the bond allowed the town to "get as much bang for our buck as possible."

"We will be right-sizing our schools to meet declining enrollment, elementary students will be redistricted so that the schools are more equal in size and our high school will be in the exact middle of town, readily accessible to all, on a beautiful campus setting that includes our athletic complex," Bodziony argued.