68% of Bozeman voters approved a $26 million bond. That bond included funding to build a new elementary school as well as renovate Longfellow School and expansion work on the school district's support services facility.
"I think that the Bozeman community has stepped forward and really let us know that they understand what the issues were there," Superintendent Kirk Miller said after receiving the news on the vote.
About $20 million of that money will go to building a new elementary school, something Miller has said is needed in order to ease overcrowding.
"All of the work that we've done at this point shows that our seven elementary schools are at capacity right now. All of the classrooms are being used and so our growth projections continue to be about 130 students, K through 5 students a year for the next three years," he said.
That equates to about 390 students over capacity by the time the school will open it's doors in August of 2014.
Reflecting on the work it took to inform voters on the need for the additional school, Miller said he was appreciative to everyone who voted.
"An investment in our community, there are folks that understood that. The turnout was quite large. We don't have the final numbers yet, but just really appreciate the folks who took time to study things and cast their vote," said Miller.
