Canton Local board: renewal lost by 31 votes, will form political action committee for May ballot

Board Member (speaker 3) told the board the district's renewal "was not successful," adding: "We lost by 31 votes." He said the board remains committed to students and plans to pursue another ballot measure in May, including forming a political action committee and preparing resolutions for the December meeting to place items on the May ballot. "We have to create a political action committee," he said, and officials have already started collecting names of community members willing to serve and exploring signage and mailers; a community member offered to donate a billboard "on 800."

Board Member (speaker 4) challenged the earlier campaign approach, asking what message the board would give residents who questioned the need for a renewal after the board's initial 'wait-and-see' approach. He also pressed staff on the financial stakes: "if 30,000,000 is our revenue, we would lose up to lose 10% of our operating revenue?" The board agreed to prepare a campaign 'pack' before winter break to coordinate outreach.

The board did not take a formal vote on launching a campaign at this meeting; speaker 3 described the next procedural steps as formation of the PAC, drafting resolutions to authorize ballot placement at the December board meeting, and planning outreach ahead of the May election. The board said it is hopeful a narrower margin and additional outreach will produce a different result on May 5.