Voters in two North Carolina counties voted on bond referendums May 10 that would support building initiatives for community colleges. While funding for Johnston Community College was approved, voters in New Hanover County voted against a bond package for Cape Fear Community College.
Each bond package was conducted as a separate referendum held in conjunction with a referendum in each county regarding public school buildings. Johnston County and New Hanover County voters approved bond packages for renovations to elementary, middle and high schools.
In Johnston County, voter support for the bond package for the community college exceeded that of public school bond by only 18 votes. Of the 5,687 votes cast in the community college bond referendum, 78 percent (4,418 voters) voted for the bond. Seventy-seven percent (4,400 voters) approved the public school bond.
Voters casting ballots in Johnston County represented only 7 percent of the county’s registered voters.
The May vote marks the fourth time in 10 years that voters in Johnston County have approved a bond referendum for school construction. A 2001 bond referendum included $5 million in new construction funding for Johnston Community College.
In New Hanover County, voters rejected a $27 million bond referendum for Cape Fear Community College — 60 percent of the votes cast going against the bond. About the same percentage of voters, however, approved a $123 million bond package for New Hanover County Schools.
About 10 percent of the county’s registered voters participated in New Hanover County.
The vote came during controversy over Cape Fear’s intention to build a multi-story building at its downtown Wilmington campus rather than move its programs to its 140-acre north campus. The college had also backed away from earlier attempts to buy several properties downtown. Property owners worried that the school’s price and support of condemnation efforts would force them into bankruptcy. School officials citing contamination issues for losing interest in the properties.
The May referendum was the first one in New Hanover County for Cape Fear Community College since 1997. That year, voters approved a $38 million bond for the college.
Shannon Blosser is a contributing writerß of Carolina Journal.