LIBERTY — School district residents on Tuesday turned down by a 296-211 vote a proposed $13.6 million capital project centered around improvements and renovations at the high school, which dates back to 1963.

The proposal was an extension of the preservation and enhancement efforts initiated in the district with its 2007 “Phase I” project that easily passed voter muster.

In a statement released to the press Tuesday evening, District Superintendent Dr. William Silver said, “While we are disappointed by the outcome, we appreciate that residents came out to consider this proposal. We will be meeting with the Board of Education in the coming weeks to discuss the district's next steps. The problems identified in this proposal still exist and will eventually need to be addressed.”

Involving everything from major upgrades to the high school structure's exterior, to work in the high school gymnasium and auditorium, the plan, among various other aspects and under the Educational Programs phase of the plan, called for the expansion of the existing art and music classroom spaces, expanded storage space and more.

The art, music and parts of the technology department currently share the same corridor of the school and this portion of the plan would have been achieved, in part, by moving the choral classes from their current space to the band room space, and, according to Silver on a tour of the project before Tuesday's vote, “creating a nearby addition to the high school for band, and allowing the art department to expand into space formerly used by choral and general music classes.”

And it's this portion of the project that may have been a non-starter for voters on Tuesday.

Wednesday, in an interview with the Democrat, Silver said, “I think the aspect that called for the additional music [classroom] space was the most controversial part of the project... moving and expanding the art room and bumping up the music room.”

“Still, it's really hard to say why [the measure was voted down] because the turnout at our information sessions was so sparse that I didn't really get a good feel [for the community's mood],” continued Silver.

Asked what the priorities of a possible re-submission of the capital plan might look like Silver said, “That's really a decision for the board to make... it wouldn't surprise me to see them take out the educational portion and leave the building envelope portion intact. Structural integrity is after all very important.”

Though disappointed with the outcome, Silver is realistic: “I think the vote was the vote,” he said. “I think that the board now has to re-assess what is important and decide on whether to initiate a new building plan or not.”

For more information on the Phase II proposal go to www.libertyk12.org/capitalproject.

In brief…

The lion's share of funding for the latest “Phase II” capital project - 78.5 percent - would have come from state building aid grants, with approximately $2 million drawn from existing capital reserves, resulting in a less than 1 percent increase in school taxes to cover the remainder of the buildout, for an anticipated average increase of 36 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation over current rates for the 2017-2018 school year.

More than half of now defeated proposal's cost - $7.3 million - would have focused on “School Structure,” with $4.6 million set aside for “Educational Programs,” $1.6 million for “Interior Work,” and lastly, $669,000 to be used for what the plan outlined as “Other Infrastructure.”