SUPERINTENDENTS ISSUE STATEMENTS AFTER OVERWHELMING PROPOSITION 1 DEFEAT

by BENJAMIN C. NELSON

On August 7th, voters in both the Macon R-1 and Shelby County R-lV School Districts, by a large margin, "voted no" on Proposition 1. Clarence, the town in the middle of the discussion, also "voted no" striking down the issue by a 7% margin. In total, 80% of Shelby County R-lV and 65% of Macon R-1, "voted no." With the results of the election, nothing will change and the boundary change will NOT occur. Shelby County R-lV Superintendent Tim Maddex and Macon R-1 Superintendent Scott Jarvis both released a statement, similarly talking about getting back to the normal business of the school year and the district. In November of 2017, voters in the Macon R-1 School District approved of a tax increase to fund the construction of a new elementary addition. In April of 2018, voters in the Shelby County R-lV School District approved of a tax increase to fund the construction of a new elementary on the main campus. Both districts are looking forward to getting back to those projects and progressing forward with them. Both elementary projects should be completed in the school year of 2020-2021. Superintendent Jarvis talks about how Proposition 1, took up a tremendous amount of district time and resources in the past few months. Superintendent Maddex looks forward to getting over what has occurred the past few months and building up the climate that makes South Shelby a strong district. The following are the two statements in their entirety:

TIM MADDEX (SHELBY COUNTY R-lV):

"Shelby County R-IV is very excited that we are keeping our Cardinals together. We appreciate the support we receive from our communities, parents, and patrons for our students. It's time to get the school year started, building the culture and climate that makes Shelby County R-IV strong. "

SCOTT JARVIS (MACON R-1):

"Macon County R- 1 School District voted on Proposition 1 on August 7, 2018. The patrons of the Macon County R-1 School District overwhelming voted no on Proposition 1 and supported their neighbors to the East. I wish Mr. Maddex and his school community well and hope things run smoothly on their new building project. This issue has taken up a tremendous amount of our District’s time and resources over the last several months. It is now time to get back to work on Macon County R-1 school business."

Macon R-1 will resume session on August 20th

Shelby County R-lV will resume session on August 22nd