May 4 election: Pickerington Schools voters soundly defeat bond issue
ThisWeek group
For the second time in six months, voters have rejected a 2.9-mill bond for the construction of a new junior high school for Pickerington Schools, as well as expansions and upgrades to buildings.
The bond issue, which was designed to generate $95 million that the district could pay down in 38 years or less, was defeated by a vote of 3,688 (61.01%) against the bond, to 2,357 (38.99%) for it, according to unofficial results May 4 from the Fairfield County Board of Elections.
The district extends into Franklin County, where 23 votes were cast, with 13 in favor of the issue and 10 against it.
The Illinois Schools Report Card finds that 95.1 percent of teachers stay at Lakeview Junior High School year to year, according to their 2020 three-year average.
The Illinois State Board of Education records data concerning faculty salary, retention and attendance because maintaining a stable faculty makes for a better environment for teachers and students, furthering student success, according to the report.
Center Cass SD 66 full-time faculty members number 76, with a student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1. There are 353 students enrolled at the middle school.
The average salary for teachers within the district is $76,688, ranking it 101st out of 1096 districts in the state for pay. About 86.9 percent of teachers at the middle school and 86.9 percent of those in the district were absent 10 days or fewer in 2020, compared to 86.6 percent of teachers in the state.
A gasoline station and minimarket was approved for the intersection of Lakeview Road and Orcutt Road at Highway 135 by the Santa Barbara County zoning administrator in a virtual hearing Monday morning.
Three area residents sent letters to the Planning and Development Department, four spoke at the hearing and several posted messages on various social media pages, all but a few opposing the project based on its effect on traffic congestion in the intersection.
Lakeview Road crosses both Orcutt Road and Highway 135 within a distance of about 200 feet, and the two eastbound lanes of Lakeview merge into a single lane about 200 feet east of Orcutt Road, right before a crosswalk serving students from nearby Lakeview Junior High School.