Union Local Superintendent Zac Shutler, pictured at a prior board meeting, responded to the results of the district’s proposed $62 million bond issue, which was rejected by voters on Tuesday. He said the district’s needs remain. (File Photo)

BELMONT — The public rejected a proposed $62 million bond issue for the Union Local School District during Tuesday’s election.

The issue was voted down with 2,269 in opposition and 723 in favor, according to unofficial election results. A total of 3,019 of the district’s 6,104 registered voters cast a ballot, or 49.46%.

Superintendent Zac Shutler commented upon learning the results.

“We’ll have to sit back and analyze the way in which we — myself specifically — communicated to the constituents and how we can better communicate and speak clarity to the issues to be addressed at Union Local School School District. This is why we’re a democracy. The taxpayers had their say, and it was pretty definitive how they felt, but that doesn’t change the issues that still exist in the school district.”

The bond issue would have been used for extensive upgrades to the district’s facilities. The elementary and high school buildings date from 1998 and the middle school was built in 1958 but remodeled and repurposed in 1998.

“We need to find ways to reach out to the community, to find out definitively why people voted ‘yes’ and more importantly why many voted ‘no’ and continue to move forward. The facts don’t change. The information we shared hasn’t changed. Union Local hasn’t passed a levy since 1976. We haven’t passed a bond issue since 1993,” Shutler said. “We have the lowest property tax rate in Belmont County. … We can’t continue to operate on a 1976 percent. Those are the facts as they stand right now.”

Shutler said the board and school officials will consider options for moving forward. He did not speculate on whether another bond levy might appear on a future ballot.

“Nobody wants to have more money taken out of their pocket, and I respect that, and I think that’s probably the main reason people made the decision that they made. Things are tight for a lot of people. Grocery bills are higher, utility bills are higher. There’s not anything that’s lower, and I think a tax raise anytime is challenging. Probably more so right now. We respect the community members’ decision, but that still doesn’t change the facts of the issues that we have in our school,” Shutler said. “The school district faces those issues, too.”

He said the district would continue investing in priority issues such as plumbing, boilers and patching the asphalt.

“I just want to thank all the people who came out to the committee meetings to gather the facts,” he said.

He also thanked the school board and staff who reached out to the community.

The district has numerous plans for extensive curriculum improvements in the future. Shutler said Union Local will continue to focus on improving education.