(STURGIS) - A millage proposal for Sturgis Public Schools was defeated Tuesday by voters.
In total there were 1501 NO votes cast and 1277 YES votes. All the voting was done at the Sturges-Young Center for the Arts.
In Precinct #1 which also included residents of Fawn River Township, the No votes were 303 and the Yes votes were 253. In Precinct #2 which also included voters from Sturgis Township, the Yes votes were 174 and the No votes were 166.
Voters in Precinct #3 which also includes Sherman Township saw the No votes total 220 and the Yes votes 144, while in Precinct #4, which included voters from Burr Oak Township had 225 No votes and 171 Yes votes.
There were also 1125 absentee ballots in this election. 587 of those ballots were No votes while 535 were Yes votes.
The millage request was for 30 years at the current millage rate of 7 mills.
Sturgis Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Art Ebert issued a media release. Ebert says while this is not the result that they were hoping for, they are grateful for the rich dialogue that was had throughout the bond proposal process.
Ebert says they are further thankful for Tuesday's turnout with 2,778 individuals from across Sturgis and the surrounding townships weighing in at the voting booth.
Ebert says the goal was to design a community led proposal and ensure that everyone had the information necessary to make an informed decision. He says Tuesday's turnout shows that they were successful at engaging the community.
Ebert says he would like to personally thank everyone that voted Tuesday, as well as all of the staff and community members that worked so hard over the past twelve months to bring this proposal to life and communicate it to the public.