Two of the four area district referenda passed Tuesday night. Administrators say that means critical dollars to sustain programs.

One day later, we talk to two districts, one that passed a referendum and one that failed.

The Independence School District passed a $1.25 million referendum over five years. Just down Highway 93 Arcadia School District's nearly $24 million referendum to build a new elementary/middle school failed.

The two districts had quite different referendums. Independence’s referendum had a relatively small impact on taxpayers, while Arcadia's tax impact was relatively substantial.

Independence school superintendent Dave Laehn was in better spirits Wednesday after a successful referendum bid than the last time we spoke. In February the district asked for a similarly sized referendum that failed.

“I think we demonstrated the need when we had our informational meetings we tried to emphasize to people that we made cuts and we made changes,” Laehn explains.

Laehn says if this referendum, which will be used to maintain current programs and services; had failed, cuts would have been certain.

“We understand very much that it's tough out there. For our community to dig deep and support this referendum we're very, very grateful,” he says.

But down the road in Arcadia, spirits were not as high, “Obviously you're a little disappointed, we know there's some things we need to go do,” Arcadia Superintendent Louie Ferguson says.

Ferguson says the high price tag of the referendum which would cost taxpayers about $200 extra a year on a $100,000 home, was a big reason why it failed.

“We're not convinced we can change the price tag a whole lot, but what we can work on is softening the impact, and that's probably an area we'll have to look at,” he says.

Ferguson tells us the need for a new elementary/middle school isn't going to go away, overcrowding is only getting worse and parts of the building will soon turn 100, meaning a lot of inefficiencies.