HAMLIN, W.Va. -- Lincoln County voters overwhelmingly rejected a school bond levy that would have funded the construction of two new schools as well as renovations for three others in the county.

All but four precincts were reporting at 10 p.m. Saturday, with 503 votes in favor of the levy and 1,288 against, said Jeff Midkiff, assistant superintendent of Lincoln County Schools.

"Of course, it's disappointing," said Midkiff. "The voters of Lincoln County have decided they were not in favor of the proposal, and they have spoken."

The proposed bond was for 15 years at a maximum interest rate of 6.5 percent.

The levy was to provide $24 million for the school system, and the passing of the levy also would have secured an additional $17 million from the West Virginia School Building Authority.

Without that money, Midkiff said school board officials will have to go back to the beginning in addressing the needs of their schools.

"We will have to go back to the drawing board and look at what our needs are and come up with another plan," said Midkiff. "It's not the outcome we had hoped for."

The total $41 million would have provided for the construction of a new Midway-Duval Elementary School. The school would have been a consolidation of Midway and Duval elementary schools. A new Guyan Valley 6-8 school also would have been constructed.

The bond money also would have been used for upgrades to the athletic facilities at Lincoln County High School, in addition to construction projects at other schools.

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