The tally was 4,724 votes against and 1,561 votes in favor. The bond issue would have been the city's largest ever.
Susan Adams, who co-chairs the political action committee SPHS-Yes!, was surprised that the proposal was defeated by such a wide margin.
"We worked really hard to educate the voters about the deficiencies at the high school and obviously there's more work to be done, but the problems of the school are not going to go away. They're only going to get worse, and the costs are going to increase," said Adams, the mother of two young children.
Voter turnout was about 34 percent of registered voters, according to the city clerk's office.
The bond would have raised annual property taxes and cost an average taxpayer about $5,100 over 23 years starting in 2009, according to the city. At the peak cost, in 2013, the average homeowner, with a $240,000 house and a $13,000 homestead exemption, would have paid $312 for the renovation.
Supporters of the bond issue said the high school is in dire need of upgrades to the learning environment of students and improvements would help attract the best teachers.
Critics said residents would not be able to afford the higher property taxes. They also predicted that the bond issue would hurt the city's bond rating and make borrowing for other projects more expensive.
The proposal called for tearing down and rebuilding part of the school, expanding classrooms, updating science labs and replacing the library and cafeteria. A new artificial turf field, a second gym and a reduction of the number of entrances from 22 to two, for security reasons, were also part of the proposal.
Bringing the school up to code -- fixing the roof, repairs to the heating, ventilation and storm water systems, asbestos removal and ensuring compliance with federal disability requirements -- would have cost about $30 million, according to the project's architects, Harriman Associates.
The renovated school would have been almost 318,000 square feet and accommodated 1,200 students. Just under 1,000 students now attend the school.
Three of the four City Council candidates -- Thomas Blake, Louis Maietta Jr. and incumbent Linda Boudreau -- opposed the bond issue because of the cost. The other candidate, Donald Legere, said he supported the bond but did not want to use all of the money if authorized by voters.
The project was also criticized because it did not seek state money. Officials said the project wouldn't receive state money because the school isn't overcrowded and the city has a solid tax base.
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
jhuang@pressherald.com
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