Page 30 - The EDGE Winter 2022

DISTRICT ELECTIONS

BY DON HARRIS
Randie Stein
Bonds and Overrides – What Happened in 2021?

It was not a good year for school district bond elections, passed and seven failed. That’s a passage rate of 70%,
but overrides fared considerably better, meeting or which is on par with M&O overrides during the past 20
exceeding historical success rates. years, according to Stein.

That was the overall assessment of Randie Stein, Four of five DAA overrides passed, or 80%, which
Managing Director at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc., who exceeds the historical passage rate of 59%, Stein said.
gave AASBO members a statistical snapshot of what Three of six bond issues were approved, a 50% rate
happened to Maintenance & Operations overrides, compared to 85% over the past 20 years. Overall,
District Additional Assistance (DAA) overrides and school districts had a total of 34 ballot questions in
bond elections in 2021. At the AASBO Bi-Monthly 2021, and 23 passed for a 68% rate. That compares to
Meeting in November, she also urged districts that are 72% over the past two decades.
considering holding elections in 2022 that it’s not too
early to start planning. Taking a closer look at M&O elections, Stein noted
that the last regular non-November override election
There were 23 M&O overrides on ballots in 2021 – 16 was May 2007. “Prior to that, districts could have this

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30 THE EDGE WINTER 2022