MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Fruitport Community Schools $82 million bond proposal was voted down by residents Tuesday in the May 6 special election. The district planned to use the requested bond funds to make a number of improvements to the district such as constructing a new elementary school and soccer field. The measure was narrowly defeated in two counties. The school improvement bond was rejected by 50.98% of district voters, 1,951 to 1,876, according to unofficial results from the Muskegon County Clerk’s Office. There were residents in Ottawa County’s Crockery and Spring Lake townships eligible to vote and 51% opposed it, failing 302 to 319, according to unofficial results from the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office. RELATED: $82M bond could fund new Fruitport elementary school, if approved by voters May 6 School leaders had emphasized there would be no increase to the current 6.9 mills that the district levies from residents each year to pay down debt. The new bond proposal, rather, would have levied those taxpayer funds as a credit for the school district to borrow money for the proposed improvements. Under the current millage, a resident with a home having a $100,000 taxable value pays $690 annually, officials said. “If voters say ‘yes,’ this becomes a 30-year bond project that, over those 30 years, we would use that 6.9 mills to pay off the money that we would be authorized to borrow to build the projects in the bond proposal,” Fruitport Community Schools Superintendent Jason Kennedy said. The first priority was the construction of a new Edgewood Elementary School. Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Muskegon” daily newsletter.