Board will borrow for school repairs without asking voters

What happened

On July 30, 2026 the board voted to pay for its building repair programme through a county improvement authority instead of putting a bond question on the ballot. A motion to hold the decision back failed, and the board then shelved the alternative resolution that would have started a public referendum. One member said he did not believe the law lets a district bypass voters.

Why it matters to families

A referendum is normally how a community says yes or no to borrowing for school buildings. Under this route the borrowing still has to be repaid by Vernon taxpayers, but the decision is made by the board and county bodies rather than at the ballot box.

The evidence

The July 30, 2026 approved minutes record the resolution directing the administration to pursue improvement authority approvals 'in lieu of pursuing a public referendum', the failed motion to table, and the separate referendum resolution being postponed indefinitely. The board's bond counsel explained that under a 2024 law the district ground-leases property to the authority, which issues the bonds; lease payments sit outside the levy cap and still draw state debt service aid. Board member Brian Fisher said the law does not explicitly permit skipping a vote and asked for further legal review.

The source