In the two months preceding the Nov. 3 referendum on the $49 million bond-issue proposal, Duchesne County school officials often repeated that regardless of the election outcome, a new elementary school must still be built in Roosevelt because of overcrowding at East Elementary and rising birth rates.

But voters soundly rejected the school district's plan, and now everything — even the near-likelihood of a new elementary school to alleviate East Elementary — is off the table, school officials say.

“I think we should just cool our jets until the spring,” School Board member Kim Harding said at Thursday's board meeting in Tabiona. “The public spoke in large numbers.”

“For the near future, portable buildings will be the thing to do,” said board member John Hullinger. “I would concur that (a new elementary) is on hold.”

At the meeting, board members went over the ballots to certify the results. And though they recounted, the outcome was still the same: defeat for the plan they say they spent years working on.

The official count was 1,952 votes opposing the bond issue and 1,236 votes in support, or 61 percent to 39 percent.

To board members, the loss was a clear message from a majority of voters in the county that they did not like the plan, though their individual reasons may vary. But people in the audience at the Tabiona meeting still had questions about the future direction of the district – questions that for now, cannot be answered to anyone's full satisfaction.

One woman wanted to know if the aging boilers at Altamont High would be replaced. Another asked if “consolidation,” the integration of Altamont's students into other county schools, was back on the table. A man asked if the school district had a master plan for the long-term use of its many facilities.

“We'll fix as we go,” said board member Nancy West of the boilers and other pressing repair items.

“I know the big question on everyone's mind in Altamont is, are we going to be consolidated?” said Harding. “And I don't know.”

Board member Doug Swasey said the vote against the bond issue should not be viewed as a pro-consolidation mandate. Board member Gordon Moon said the board and the district never told voters that consolidation was not an option; what they did say was that consolidation wouldn't save the district any money in school operating costs.

West said in the future, the board will make sure the public is involved in the planning process early. Her comment was a response to a widespread public perception that the school district rushed the plan to the polls without first getting input from voters.

Passage of the bond issue would have meant construction of a new buildings for Altamont and Union high schools, as well as a new elementary school in Roosevelt. The school district has $8 million saved for capital projects, but as of now, there are no concrete plans for spending the money.

In other business:

• The district decided to change its rule involving cheerleaders and how they disembark from pyramid structures. The cheerleading coach at Altamont High was concerned that the district's policy of requiring the cheerleader at the top of the pyramid to drop with the “feet down” and legs extended would lead to ankle injuries. Now the cheerleaders will be allowed to drop into a “chair catch,” which is supposed to be safer. With the change, the district's policy will conform to state education board policy

• Board members discussed growth at Myton and Neola elementary schools in the fifth grade. There is concern that such growth will mean overcrowding next year in Roosevelt Middle School's sixth grade. The district has to decide whether to create a sixth grade at the elementary schools or make room at the middle school for up to 50 extra students.