Referendum is reality: What's next?
With the Aiken County Board of Education's decision to move forward with a bond referendum now a reality, what happens next?
Expect a group or groups of community residents to step forward and raise funds and promote passage of a bond election to rebuild or construct on new facilities for six county schools.
It's also possible another group may form to oppose the referendum in the same way.
But Aiken County School District employees, including top-level administrators and board members, will face restrictions on their actions during the time frame leading up to the referendum.
"What the school district cannot do is tell people how to vote," said Debbie Elmore, communications director for the S.C. School Boards Association (SCSBA). "They need to make sure that information gets out. What does the referendum do? What will it mean? Why is it needed. But the line is they can't tell people how to vote."
Employees are prohibited from using school district property, supplies or time to support a campaign, said Aiken County School Board attorney Bill Burkhalter.
"On their own time, they can talk it up and encourage people to vote," he said. "They could start a speakers' bureau. But they can't specifically support the bond referendum. They can't run fliers or ask students to take one home."
It makes sense for School Board members to be able to talk about the referendum, said Elmore.
They're the officials who know what the needs are and have the responsibility for setting educational policy.
"The purpose of the community group when they form away from the district is to be the 'vote yes' or 'vote no' people," Elmore said. "They can drive people to the polls. They direct the vote."
According to SCSBA records, no school district in the state called for a bond referendum in 2009. Elmore attributes that situation to the tough economy.
Aiken school officials contend that 2010 is the right time for a bond election because of low bond rates and construction costs. There's merit to that approach, Elmore said.
"You can get more for your money," she said. "What's coming from most of the architects and construction managers is that they're much hungrier for jobs than they were two or three years ago."
There were 10 bond elections in 2008, and nine of them were approved by voters. In 2007, however, only four of nine referendums were successful.
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.