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Castlewood voters pass $6M school bond issue

Rendering of proposed upgrades to the Castlewood School District created by the architecture firm ISG.
Castlewood School District
/
ISG
Rendering of proposed upgrades to the Castlewood School District created by the architecture firm ISG. The school was damaged by a tornado in 2022. Voters approved a bond to construct new facilities on Oct. 24, 2023.

Castlewood voters have advanced a $6 million past the 60 percent needed to pass.

The tally from Tuesday's election came in at 315 "yes" votes against 210 "no."

This comes over a year after a tornado devastated the district’s school facilities. Many students have been learning in temporary classrooms ever since.

Castlewood Superintendent Peter Books said now its time to get down to brass tacks.

“We’ve had a schedule or a plan working with our architects on renderings – figuring out the schedule and what that looks like," Books said. "We’ve already had our phase one rebuild and now figure out what areas we can start building next.”

A previous vote on the bond narrowly failed. The polls tallied an additional 105 voters this time around.

Damage left behind in the Castlewood gymnasium following the May 12, 2022 tornado
Courtesy Photo
Damage left behind in the Castlewood gymnasium following the May 12, 2022 tornado

C.J. Keene is a Rapid City-based journalist covering the legal system, education, and culture