An appeal to district court has been filed, challenging the results related to the Highland School District bond vote that was approved with 61-percent and that was upheld by a contest court last month. On January 20th, a contest court upheld the results of the bond election with a split decision of 2-1. The challenge related to the $15-million bond passing and that it was discovered on election day that some voters at the Ainsworth precinct were given the incorrect ballots.
Attorney Richard Gaumer who served on the contest court shared the three-person contest court’s decision following the deliberations explaining the Iowa Code section 57.4 that was associated with the panel’s finding, “It shall not be held sufficient to set aside the election unless the rejection of the vote of that precinct would change the result. The canvas that occurred on the 19th of November with all of the votes indicated that the public measure achieved the required 60% majority. If you eliminate the votes in the Ainsworth precinct, you still get a successful 60%, in excess of 60%. As a result, I think, based on the evidence that was presented and the record that was very ably made by counsel on both sides it is a 2-1 vote of this panel that the election should be declared successful.”
Highland Superintendent Ken Crawford shared the following statement with KCII News after the appeal to district court was filed, “The Highland Community School District will continue to advocate for the students of this district. Voters approved a $15 million dollar investment into their education and we are committed to helping our students enjoy this vision. While the timeline for this appeal is unclear at this time, the Highland Community School District will work to ensure that all votes and voices that said yes to our students will be heard.”
An attorney representing the challengers states the appeal was filed last week and processed on February 6th. It will then be reviewed by the district court. KCII News will bring more information as the situation develops.