Orcas public school improvement efforts have hit a brick wall for the second time in six months.

As election results rolled in, it became clear that cash-strapped Orcas voters weren’t going to spring for the $27 million school bond proposal, much to the chagrin of a school board that spent countless hours deliberating its terms. The vote was 1059 yes, 1234 no.

“I am really disappointed, but I am mainly disappointed for our kids at the school,” said board member Janet Brownell. “I felt like this became very divisive and it shouldn’t have. I don’t think people realized how much the school board did understand what’s going on with the economy. At some point these buildings have to be replaced. This wasn’t an optional plan.”

The bond would have allowed the sale of $27 million in bonds to finance the following: replacement of the middle school buildings that house the cafeteria, woodshop, library, music room and other classrooms; major repairs to the elementary and high school buildings; and construction of a vocational ed building to house current programs.

It was originally put before voters in February at $35 million. The resolution earned 55 percent support, shy of the 60 percent super majority needed for approval. The school board reduced the project’s scope in the hope it would garner more votes.

Letters to the Sounder evidenced a hot debate. Many said the monthly cost was within reason and thought the bond amount necessary, urging support. Some balked at the enormity of the bond during tough economic times, and wanted the improvements broken down into smaller, phased projects, or argued for repair, not a complete rebuild. The board said repairs or breaking it into phases would be more expensive.

“At this point, we don’t know what we’re going to do,” Brownell said. “It looks doubtful we’ll do anything by February, which is the soonest we could put something on the ballot.”

The school board will discuss it at their next meeting on Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. in the school library.

“My view is for us to step back, evaluate what we did right and what went wrong; the problem is not going to go away just because it (didn’t) get passed,” said school board member Tony Ghazel. “How can we deal with the problem in a way the public will support?”

According to school staff, this winter, Orcas parents will send their five to nine-year-olds off to classrooms that sometimes won’t get warmer than 55 degrees, forcing teachers and children to wear their winter coats inside. Students will use toilets that won’t flush and choose whether to wash their hands with icy, brownish tap water. The school nurse’s station, for example, gets warm water only after running the tap for 20 minutes, due to the elementary school’s 60-year-old plumbing. One teacher told the Sounder that the water fountain in her classroom squirts hot water unexpectedly. Ten- to 14-year-olds will spend each day in buildings that don’t meet earthquake code and lack sufficient insulation, with heaters that turn themselves on and off with no rhyme or reason. But as soon as workers open up the walls, they must also deal with a host of other requirements in order to bring the building up to code – like a building-wide ceiling sprinkler system.

“I am sorry and I am disappointed. I do not know what we’re going to do now,” said superintendent Barbara Kline. “Those buildings need to be replaced. I think it would have been a great thing for our community. Even those who voted no, I think they would have been happy with what we built.”

Kline said the school recently went for a $1.5 million federal energy grant, but was turned down due to lack of matching funds.

“We didn’t have the cash to commit, but with the bond, we could have been able to for it in the next round,” she said. “It would have been easy money if we had the cash … It’s one of the things we can’t do now.”

One grant the school did receive was $150,000 for completing HVAC work in the high school this summer.

“But it doesn’t help the elementary school or middle school,” Kline said.

While school board members say they are disappointed with the election results, Brownell is keeping a positive attitude.

“School opens in a month, and we have the best staff and the best education in the state, and that will continue, no matter what,” she said.