Close school vote finally over, outcome not changed

A week after the polls closed, the total’s finally official in a northwestern Iowa school bond vote. The original tally showed the Remsen-Union school district bond issue failed by two votes. Now a canvas of the votes has determined it actually lost by five votes. It’s a disappointment to school board president Darrel Schroeder, who says classes are being held in “portable classrooms”…basically, trailers.He says the grade school isn’t handicapped-accessible despite the needs of at least one student. This was the third unsuccessful try at passing the bond issue, and opponent Carol Ruba says it should be the last. She says with state funding cuts and declining enrollment, it costs too much and the district should fix up the schools it has. The five-and-a-half million dollar bond issue would have replaced a 90-year-old grade-school building and done away with the eight portable classrooms.