Highest Ever Voter Turnout for Springs School Election

had its all time high for voter turnout this year at an even 1,000 voters.

In the past, the voting totals have only reached just over 600, Superintendent Michael Hartner said on Wednesday, the day after residents approved a 5.8 percent tax rate increase in a , vote, with 56.3 percent voting  yes.

While there is increase in voter turnout, the margin the budget passed by has decreased. In 2010, a 4.9 percent tax rate increase passed with 69.7 percent of the vote. A total of 680 votes were cast.

Current board of education president Chris Kelley said on Wednesday, “The good news is there was higher voter participation, and we still won by a high margin.”

Some may attribute the higher voter turnout to the , a group that rallied to defeat this year’s school budget.

Lynne Scanlon, who heads the group, said the gap is closing because the community  is a step closer to overturning upcoming budgets, if they have to.

"No one but the reconstituted board can end the painful polarization that exists among Springs residents. The board knows that," Scanlon said on Wednesday. But, she said the Springs HomeOwners Alliance and those who voted against the budget "are willing to support the board, if they are willing to support us."

Kelley, who is stepping down this year, was cautious about summarizing what it all means. “One figure does not make a trend,”he said.

He added that Scanlon and the HomeOwners Alliance should get more involved in the process, “rather than shooting from the sidelines.”

Superintendent Hartner said, in this case, “You are not comparing apples to apples; the tax increase is greater this year.” Naturally with a higher tax increase, there will be more votes, he said.

He also added the other differences in the budget process this year: teacher contract negotiations have been in the public eye and the state's proposed two percent property tax cap. There was definitely a different atmosphere than the year before, he said.

Board member Kathee Burke-Gonzalez shared Hartner’s view. “I think you have to look at the budget one year at a time,” she said, adding that there are usually more voters when more people are running for seats on the board of education. But, she added, “The Springs HomeOwners Alliance certainly brought in votes.”

Next year, there will be two new members on the board -- Liz Mendelman and Tim Frazier -- plus new district treasurer Colleen Card, so it will be a new budget process, she said. “We are looking for people to become apart of the discourse.”