Effingham superintendent looking at ‘punishing’ voters, group alleges

Effingham Community Schools Superintendent Mark Doan is considering “punishing” voters for rejecting a second effort at a sales tax by issuing $ 14 million in bonds, the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) allege. In April, voters nixed upping the sales tax to 7.75 percent from 6.5 percent to increase a reserve fund and offset the potential impact of a loss of state funding.  The school district was expected to use its portion of the revenue to make upgrades to Effingham Junior High School. Doan was particularly upset by the measure’s defeat, the ECW said, adding that Doan is also considering placing the measure on the ballot again in 2018 and issuing bonds in the interim to finish the planned construction. Issuing bonds would come with an increase in real estate taxes, which would in turn force many homeowners to reconsider their opposition to the sales tax increase, the ECW said.