BREAKING NEWS: Owatonna Bond Referendum Fails

By a narrow margin, the bond referendum for a new high school in Owatonna has
failed. Voters in the Owatonna School District rejected the referendum during a
special election Tuesday.
The referendum was defeated with 5,762 no votes to 5,642 yes votes. The widest
disparity of votes arose out of the Clinton Falls precinct, which includes much of the
rural areas of the district. In Clinton Falls, there were 1,277 no votes compared to
456 yes votes.
The Owatonna School District was seeking $116 million to build a new high school
to replace the existing structure that it has deemed as inefficient and too costly to
repair.