Tuesday voting results

School officials in White Pigeon and Constantine can start planning a variety of projects, as voters in the two school systems approved proposals Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a sinking-fund millage request sought by Sturgis Public Schools failed Tuesday, the second defeat in less than nine months.
In White Pigeon, a funding source that generates nearly $5 million over its five-year life was renewed by a margin greater than 2-to-1. Including two precincts in Cass County, Tuesday’s totals were 378 in favor to 177 opposed.
The 3-mill, five-year sinking fund was approved in 2007 and renewed in 2012.
The estimated cost of nearly two dozen items to be addressed as a result of Tuesday’s vote is close to $4.4 million.
Constantine Public Schools has an additional $1.6 million in its coffers as the result of Tuesday’s vote.
With 346 yes votes and 229 no votes, the district is authorized to spend money it landed thanks to savings it accrued through a refinancing measure. Current interest rates are lower than the interest rate of the initial 6.8 mills approved in 2002, yielding a difference of $1.6 million.
The district, however, needed voter approval to spend the money. Superintendent Steve Wilson said potential uses for the funds include updating security cameras in all buildings, upgrades in technology infrastructure, resurfacing the track and tennis courts and purchasing “On Track Learning Center” for alternative education and online learning students.
Also Tuesday, Sturgis Public Schools voters by nearly a 3-to-2 margin turned down a sinking-fund millage request, 611 to 372. District officials were surprised by the margin of defeat, as an August request failed by just 45 votes.
St. Joseph County’s largest school district was seeking 1.25 mills for a five-year period.