Beacon Staff
Burlington residents passed a levy increase during a special election Tuesday night, Sept. 10, to fund a performing arts center at Aldo Leopold Intermediate School.
Adding an auditorium at the high school was projected to cost three times as much as improving and expanding the existing facility at Aldo. Exactly 974 votes were counted, and 538 voted for the levy. Roughly 45 percent of voters, consisting of 436 people, voted against it.
The question on the ballot sought permission for the district to levy up to an additional 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation for a period of six years.
Currently, BCSD’s VPPEL is 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. Voter approval would allow the district to increase that levy to no more than $1.34 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. The expansion is estimated to cost about $8 million, and the estimated increase in PPEL funds would generate approximately $900,000 per year.
Burlington superintendent Robert Scott thanked voters in a public Facebook message shortly after the election results were announced.“We are so thankful to voters for getting out and supporting this measure and for the opportunity to bring such a high-level performing arts center to our area. We look forward to the opportunities this will create for our students and our community,” Scott said.
“Our next steps will be to bring together stakeholders — students, parents, staff, and community members — to begin discussing plans and specifications for this exciting project.