CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — On Saturday, Chester County residents will vote on a $263 million bond referendum, deciding if they want to pay higher taxes in exchange for new and updated schools.
The Chester County School District has tried to pass this bond referendum twice already. In 2018, Chester County residents voted against a $38 million school bond referendum. Two years later, they struck down a $116 million dollar referendum.
Chris Christoff with the district said this time, the price tag is even higher because more upgrades have been added to the plans. At the same time construction costs have also gone up.
“A lot of our students and teachers see what surrounding districts have, what other schools have," he said, "and so we’re trying to do our best to give our students the same opportunity that other districts have afforded their students.”
The proposed school bond would pay for nine projects, including two new high schools. But not everyone agrees with spending $263 million dollars.
Erin Mosley, who has a child in the school district, said with more than 18 percent of people in Chester County living in poverty, residents simply can’t afford the increase in taxes.
“If you add all those things together, including your vehicles, your businesses -- it’s a substantial increase in taxes," said Mosley. "Just mine alone, just my house taxes would go up almost double.”
Polls will be open this Saturday, May 14th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can also vote absentee -- the last day to do that is this Friday, May 13.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.