School, City ballot measures both pass

Favorable votes were given to Nov. 5 ballot issues in the City of Holyoke and Holyoke School District Re-1J.

The City measure will change future election dates to November of even-numbered years instead of April.

Current members of Holyoke City Council and the mayor will have their terms extended to November of the year in which they expire, and the next City election will be Nov. 3, 2020.

The measure passed with 77.3% voting in favor and 22.7% opposing the election date change.

City vote
Yes    471
No    138

Holyoke School District requested the extension of a 7-mill override that had previously been approved through tax year 2020, to be collected in 2021. The ballot issue will extend that 7-mill override another five years, to expire after collection year 2025.

The school district has a majority of its voters in east Phillips County, as well as a few in Yuma and Sedgwick counties.

Combining votes from Phillips and Sedgwick counties, as well as the first set of votes from Yuma County, the mill levy override extension passed 58.6% for-41.4% against.

School vote
Yes    592
No    418

The final set of votes that had not yet been tabulated in Yuma County when this issue went to press Tuesday night would not have swayed the outcome.

The official ballot total for the school measure will be reported in next week’s Enterprise, as will vote totals for the four school board candidates who were automatically elected, as there were only four open positions on the board.

Also look for results next week for statewide ballot issues, comparing how Phillips County voted with regard to the actual outcomes.