The Starke County Election Board has formally approved a public question presented by the Knox Community School Board to be placed on a ballot for a special election set for May 7.
The question pertains to the proposed Knox Elementary School renovation and construction project. The Department of Local Government Finance has approved the wording of the question to be placed on the ballot and it has been certified by the Starke County auditor.
No public comments were made concerning the board’s discussion. With the approval of the placement of the question on the ballot, Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski will contact the Microvote representatives and present the paperwork for ballot creation.
Starke County Democratic chairman Kenny Wallace and Republican chairperson Brenda Stanojevic will be gathering poll workers for the May 7 election.
The deadline to register to vote in this special election is April 8. Absentee voting for the voters of the Knox Community school district will begin April 8 and run until May 3 from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.; April 27 and May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.; and on May 6 from 8 a.m. to noon. No evening absentee voting sessions were scheduled. Absentee voting will be conducted in the Starke County Courthouse. Balloting by mail will also be available and the travel board will also gather votes.
Voters in the following precincts will be eligible to vote in this election: California 1 and 2; Center 1-6; and Washington 1 and 2.
The question that will be presented on the ballot reads as follows:
“Shall the Knox Community School Corporation issue bonds or enter in a lease to finance the renovation of and the construction of an addition to replace a portion of Knox Elementary School, which includes the central office area, technology and site improvements (the “Project”), which Project is estimated to cost not more than $16,000,000 and is estimated to increase the property tax rate for debt service by a maximum of $0.2802 per $100 of assessed valuation?”
