Stone County residents vote in favor of the $19.75M bond referendum

Teachers and Stone County school staff cheered with joy as the $19 million bond referendum passed.

Reporting from 16 of 16 precincts shows 66 percent voted for the bond and 34 percent voted against it. Those percentages do not include absentee and affidavit votes.

The $19.75 million will go to building a new high school and athletic stadium. The Stone Middle School building will be repurposed to offer pre-K and a Boys and Girls Club.

Taxes will rise on properties with assessed values of $10,000 so the tax increase will be $120 per year. Stone County Superintendent of Education Inita Owen said, “Gave us a huge win for our students. We’re super excited about it. It was a community effort, a group effort. Our parents never let us down. They stepped up and came up and hit a home run. We’re so appreciative. We haven’t had anything new in a long, long time. We’re ready for our students and our teachers to be able to be proud of what we have.”

Construction on the new high school and stadium are expected to be complete in two and a half years.