Kodiak Voters Reject Proposition 2, New KHS

Casey Kelly/KMXT

0 < ![endif]--> Voters in the Kodiak Island Borough rejected a 115-million dollar bond initiative Tuesday that would have funded a new high school building to replace the aging Kodiak High School. Although the election has yet to be certified, unofficial results have Proposition 2 going down by a 1,260 to 821 vote.

School and borough officials decided to put the matter to voters, who ultimately decided that the price tag was too high. School board member Jeff Stephan (Steven) says it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

(Prop 2-1 :18s “…come up with some creative solution.”)

Bob Brodie was involved in a group called Friends of Kodiak High School that advocated for the passage of Proposition 2. He says the result of the vote is disappointing, but he can’t blame those who voted against it.

(Prop 2-2 :32s “…ballot issue to come up this year.”)

Heather Peterson voted against the measure. She’s all for a new high school, but says she can’t afford the property tax increase. She says the borough should find another way to pay for it that doesn’t single out property owners.

(Prop 2-3 :17s “…it needs to be across the board.”)

Advocates for the proposition argued that the cost of building a new high school isn’t going to get any cheaper. They also tried to make their case by pointing out that 60 to 70 percent of construction costs would have been picked up by the State of Alaska under a program that reimburses districts for the cost of building new schools.

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