Voters from among the 18 towns that send their students to the Central Vermont Career Center overwhelmingly rejected a plan to build a new tech center in Barre.
The $149 million bond was turned down by a vote of 5,751 to 3,873.
The vote was held on Nov. 4, but the district counted the ballots Thursday due to the complexity of so many towns taking part across Washington County.
Career Center Director Jody Emerson said taxes would have gone up across the district if the bond was approved.
“Every time someone said they were voting ‘no’ whether it was in person, or on social media, they said, ‘I support career and technical education. It’s important. And I can’t afford this.”
Emerson said the district was seeking to build a new school because there is a long waiting list for students who can’t get into classes at the center, which is located inside a wing of Spaulding High School in Barre City.
And she said the labs and classrooms are in need of upgrades, especially for many of the trades that use new technologies.
As the state embarks on a plan to overhaul how education is governed and paid for, a key question is how it will pay for the millions of dollars in deferred maintenance at school buildings.
Noting that the center in Barre will require some upgrades this year, Emerson said she hopes career and technical education does not suffer among the changes on the horizon.
“I’m really worried for our state,” she said. “If we want to build our community stronger and the state stronger we need to invest in career and technical education, and we need to do so sooner than later. And finding a way to get that message out is my next role.”
