By Cathy Spaulding
Voters in the Hulbert school district turned down a proposed $2.5 million bond issue that would have gone to a larger cafeteria and additional classrooms.
The vote, held during Tuesday’s statewide school board elections, was 60.76 percent opposing the bond issue and 39.24 favoring it. Hulbert voters also elected Linda Baker to office 5 on the Hulbert Board of Education.
In Wagoner Public Schools, incumbent office 5 board member Vernon Sullivan will face Brenda Barney in an April 6 runoff. Also heading for a runoff are Bill Raskey and Richard Smith for office 5, Gore Board of Education, and Rhonda Eagle and Michael D. Friend, the top two vote-getters in a close race for office 3 on the Gore Board of Education.
School Board candidates in Muskogee, Hilldale and Fort Gibson were unopposed Tuesday.
Hulbert Public Schools officials had promoted the building bond issue to ease overcrowding in the school cafeteria and add classrooms for the elementary school and high school. The bond issue would have raised the ad valorem tax rate by 22.6 percent.
Hulbert Schools Superintendent David Wilkins said he is very disappointed in the results.
“Students needed a bigger cafeteria and more classrooms,” he said. “To be a progressive school district, we need to pass bond issues.”
Wilkins said the district can maintain current facilities, however, “with our current operating budget we will not and cannot have the resources to build these facilities.”
Wilkins said he will meet with the school board at its next regular meeting, March 8, to discuss what to do next. He said proposed cafeteria would have had twice the seating capacity and twice the kitchen size of the current cafeteria, which is located in the high school. Hulbert has about 300 students in elementary and 300 in high school.
In Tahlequah, Hamid Vahdatipour defeated Duel Smith.
Area election results
Hulbert Bond issue:
• Yes, 175 or 39.24 percent; no 271, or 60.76 percent.
Area School Board Races
• Hulbert, Office 5: Christopher Sallee, 59, or 13 percent; Kent Barnes, 87, or 19.16 percent; Linda Baker, 308, or 67.84 percent.
• Norwood, Office 1: Rickey Moore, 50, or 58.82 percent; Susan D. Kirk, 35, or 41.18 percent.
• Tahlequah, Office 5: Hamid Vahdatipour, 347, or 61.85 percent; Duel Smith, 214, or 38.15 percent.
• Lowery, Office 2: George Johnson, 33, or 45.83 percent; Billy Simpson, 39, or 54.17 percent.
• Wagoner, Office 5: Brenda Barney, 329, or 38.52 percent; Vernon Sullivan, 274 or 32.08 percent; Mark Collins, 251, or 29.39 percent.
• Braggs, Office 5: Audra Lynn Hunt, 33, or 21.43 percent; Kyles Jones, 121, or 78.57 percent.
• Porum, Office 5: Stuart Morton, 83, or 54.97 percent; Michael Wright, 68, or 45.03 percent.
• Porum, Office 3: unexpired term, Lisa C. Harris, 33, or 21.29 percent; Raymond Simeroth, 87, or 56.13 percent; Doris Sissy Goekler, 35, or 22.58 percent.
• Webbers Falls, Office 5: Robert D. Vinson: 109, or 60.22 percent; David Jarrard, 72, or 39.78 percent.
• Gore, Office 5: Charles Bud Baker, 85, or 18.8 percent; Bill Raskey, 217, or 48.1 percent; Richard Smith, 149, or 33.03 percent.
• Gore, Office 3: unexpired term, Arthur Cotton Carter, 107, or 23.21 percent; Michael D. Friend, 115, or 24.94 percent; Jeremy Lane, 111, or 24.07 percent; Rhonda Eagle, 128, or 27.76 percent.
• Vian, Office 5: C. Patrick Sullivan, 185, or 63.1 percent; John L. Swimmer, 108, or 36.8 percent.
