Many in the Perry School District felt fairly confident going into Tuesday’s special election for the $6.5 million bond referendum for a new industrial technology facility and wrestling/multipurpose room. However, few could have foreseen the overwhelming support the voters would show for the issue.

The measure passed, with the unofficial vote tally being 652 “Yes” votes, compared to 79 “No” votes, an 89.19% approval. The bond only needed to reach 60% to pass, and Superintendent Clark Wicks said to eclipse that number by nearly 30% goes to show just how much the Perry community supports the school. After learning of the bond’s passage, Wicks could hardly contain his excitement, and gave much of the credit to the Vote “Yes” Planning Committee.

“This is a fantastic moment for Bluejay pride! You can’t say any more than that, tremendous support in so many different parts of this whole thing. For example, the whole (Vote “Yes”) Team was so passionate. Having people that were so organized, I mean all of that just made a difference! We are going to have some great additions for some great programs. That industrial tech room and wrestling, those two entities have worked so hard their whole time and they deserve this, really. They deserve a lot better, and now we can do better.”

With the bond referendum now approved, the planning phase for the new facilities can begin in earnest. Wicks said the School Board and the architecture firm UNESCO have work to do on the details, such as the exact plans and specifications to be presented to contractors to bid on. He expects construction to begin this fall, with both facilities completed before the 2020-21 school year.