LINCOLN COUNTY – While the Troy school district and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department had tax issues on Tuesday’s ballot, the similarities stopped there.

The Lincoln County R-3 bond issue passed easily with more than 58 percent of the vote while a half cent sales tax increase for the sheriff’s department suffered a lopsided defeat of 59.1 percent to 40.9.

With a margin of nearly 700 votes (2,494-1,800) the school bond issue passed easily, providing $80 million for a district-wide construction project. The highlight of the project will be the expansion of the ninth grade center into a second high school campus.

Other construction projects include the expansion of Hawk Point Elementary, additions to the high school and $10 million for the purchase of real estate for future construction.

While the vote will allow the district to generate $80 million for the construction project, it will do so without increasing the property tax levy. However, the vote does authorize the district to extend its debt service levy for additional 20 years until 2057 in order to generate the revenue.

Lincoln County R-3 Superintendent Matt Fredrickson called the amount of community support for the bond issue “humbling.”

“Its humbling when you have that many people come out and support what we are trying to do for kids. It was a team effort to communicate with the public what we are trying to do for kids here,” he said. “I think there is some trust and commitment to our schools in this community and we can really have a lasting impact on how students and our families for generations to come.”

With the bonds approved, sales of them will start immediately to provide the revenue for a massive construction project that will take 3-5 years to complete.

“Some things we will get started on pretty quickly,” Fredrickson said, including roof repairs at Troy Middle, HVAC improvements at the Ninth Grade Center, and renovations at Hawk Point Elementary. “We have some preparation we have to do like soil tests and working with engineering for the big construction projects.”

Those big construction projects include creation of the second high school campus, which Frederickson estimates will be completed by the fall of 2027.

The sheriff’s department, conversely, failed in its second attempt in three years to pass a sales tax that would provide an estimated $4 million annually.

Sheriff Rick Harrell had promoted the tax as a way to expand the department to meet the county’s growing needs while reducing the reliance on federal prisoners. Funds from the tax would have allowed for additional deputies to be hired, pay to be increase for department employees, and the addition of animal control resources.

The sales tax was defeated by a tally of 3,866-2,679 votes after being defeated by only 117 votes two years ago.

Harrell pointed to his own recent contentious re-election campaign in the 2024 primary as having a lasting impact on the sales tax proposal.

“If you really analyze our critics out there, it’s simply a continuation from my re-election campaign for sheriff,” he said. “It’s many of the same people and they have their own personal and political agenda. And they are fast and loose with the truth.”

Pointing to staffing statistics, Harrell said he’s concerned about the department’s ability in the future to maintain current programs and provide basic protection for its citizens.

He said in 2006, when the county had a population of 49,000 people, the department employed 101 people including 60 deputies. Today, with a population of nearly 15-20,000 more residents, the department only employs 84 people with 50 deputies.

“We can do this with just me and a deputy like Andy Taylor and Barney Fife in Mayberry, but it won’t be done very well,” Harrell said. “We can do this with fewer deputies, but it will result in poor service.”

Providing school resource officers for every building in the county is a program Harrell said may be jeopardized.

“My biggest fear right now is maintaining our school resource officer program,” he said. “We will be communicating with schools and municipalities when it comes to maintaining that program.”