$10.5M Tea School Bond Issue Fails by 14 Votes

TEA, S.D. (AP) — A proposed $10.5 million bond issue to fund school projects in Tea in southeastern South Dakota failed by just 14 votes.

The measure needed 60 percent approval to pass, but only 59 percent of the 1,270 people who voted Tuesday favored the idea.

The bond issue would have paid for a new elementary school, an addition to an existing elementary school, and the start of a performing arts center attached to the high school. It would have cost the owner of a $200,000 home an extra $272 in property taxes each year.

The district in September attempted to pass an $11 million bond issue to fund the same three projects, but came up 31 votes short.

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