Edwardsville Turns Down Another School Tax

Edwardsville Turns Down Another School Tax

Yesterday, Illinois voters went to the polls. In Edwardsville Community Unit School District (CUSD) #7, they turned down yet another bond issue proposal.

If you search the incredibly useful Illinois State Board of Elections Referenda Database you'll find that voters in Edwardsville CUSD #7 have only approved one bond issue in the past ten years. That was in 2001.

But they also turned down a tax increase in 2001, as well as in 1997 and twice in 2002. And now they've rejected a bond issue in 2006.

Edwardsville CUSD #7 covers the City of Edwardsville, part of the Village of Glen Carbon, and some semi-rural areas to the north including the hamlet of Worden.

It's a rapidly growing area, where most of the people moving there have a lot of money. But I guess many of them - especially the older folks who are more likely to vote - are fiscally conservative.

But how is it that other nearby districts in Metro East like Triad had success with their proposals, yet Edwardsville did not?

I'm sure that's a question that administrators and parents will be asking in that district. Meanwhile, it sounds like more elementary students will be accommodated in portable buildings and closets.

Why don't people understand that one of the direct costs of suburban sprawl is the need for more school space in the suburbs?