Duchesne County voters spoke loudly against the school district's $49 million bond-issue proposal to build three new schools, defeating Tuesday's ballot item 58 percent to 42 percent, complete but unofficial results show.
The margin was 524 votes, with 1,699 opposing the bond issue and 1,175 supporting it. As expected, voters in Altamont voted heavily in favor of the proposition and Duchesne city voters came out in large numbers against it.
School Board member Kim Harding said he thought the vote would be closer. He said the property-tax component of the plan likely was the overriding cause of the defeat. Had the plan passed, a countywide property-tax increase would have paid the debt service on the bonds over a 20-year period starting in 2014.
“I felt like the tax was probably the deciding factor,” Harding said Wednesday morning. “But I also I know that each community had different issues. I think the School Board needs to get into a discussion now with each community and find out what voters are really wanting.”
In other precincts around the county, voters gave a hearty thumbs-down to the item. Roosevelt voters came out strong against the measure, with 408 for and 717 opposed. The outcome was similar in Myton, Tabiona, Fruitland and Neola. In fact, Altamont was the only precinct where a majority of voters supported the district's proposal, and by a big margin – 508 for, 109 against.
Countywide, turnout was around 29 percent unofficially, according to the Duchesne County clerk's office. Turnout was high in Altamont, about 47 percent, and lower in Duchesne and Roosevelt, at 29 percent and 24 percent respectively.
Had the item passed, Altamont stood to gain a new $18 million high school. In Roosevelt, a new $40 million campus for Union High School and an $11 million elementary school to alleviate overcrowding at East Elementary would have been built. The $49 million bond issue would have been combined with another $20 million to allow the school district to forge ahead with a $69 million building plan.
How the school district plans to counter the defeat has not been determined. A School Board meeting will be held at Tabiona High School on Thursday, Nov. 12.
“I'm suggesting that we put everything on hold,” Harding said. “We're really a divided county. We've still got to do something to meet our needs, and there's no money to meet them. I'm excited to move ahead, get a new plan and make some new decisions.”



In other races:
• Duchesne city voters elected RoJean Rowley over incumbent Clint Park by a vote of 255-216. Rowley previously served as mayor from 1983-93. Rodney Rowley and Carol Thomas were elected to the City Council. “Mayor Park is a really good person,” Rowley said when reached for comment Wednesday morning. “But the main issues in town were maintenance and following through on things. That's (the platform) I ran on.”
• Vaun Ryan will be Roosevelt's next mayor. He ran unopposed. He garnered 653 votes, while various write-in candidates won a total of 34 votes. David Labrum and incumbent Lane Yack were elected to the Roosevelt City Council, collecting 548 and 384 votes respectively.
• Kathleen Cooper was reelected mayor of Myton, defeating Adrian David Vanos 88-24. Larry Dye and Wayne Gingell were elected to the City Council.
• Clyde Watkins was reelected mayor of Altamont. Todd Anfinson and Robert Gordon were reelected to the council.
• In Tabiona, Ronnie Giles was unopposed in his race for mayor. Scott Stewart and Rick Wilberg, also unopposed, were elected to the town council.
• In Uintah County, Vernal Mayor Allan Mashburn was defeated by businessman Gary Showalter.