UPDATE: Farmington Schools Bond Defeated, but 'We're Not Done'

See how your neighborhood voted: 2013 Farmington School Bond Results by Precinct

Farmington School Board chair Howard Wallach said he was "disappointed" by the failure of the district's bond referendum. 

"We put a lot of time and effort into studying the issues ... and getting recommendations from a wide cross-section of the community," he said. "We felt this was best for our kids, and that it would make them competitive in school and make our community attractive to come to." 

"We have to respect what the voters said," he added, noting officials will do an analysis of the results. 

Wallach believes a negative campaign that produced a large postcard mailing and automated calls may have impacted some voters. "We live in a soundbite world today," he said, "and big postcards can make an impression, even if the information is not correct." 

9:13 p.m. "I think the next time around, it will pass," Advocates for Excellence co-chair Erica Reaves said. "I can sleep tonight. We played a clean campaign." 

She mentioned an automated call that went out to voters just before the election that claimed the district wanted "half a billion dollars". She said she believes people will eventually come to regret that they did not vote yes, when the first list serv goes out about a school closing due to a building issue. 

"Whether it's a year or two years from now, people will look back and say, 'Wow, we should have passed that bond," she said. 

8:50 p.m. In a gathering at the district's Ten Mile Building, Superintendent Sue Zuravlec told supporters of the $222 million bond referendum that, while the final vote hadn't been counted, the writing was on the wall. 

The referendum appeared headed for defeat, with 26 of 27 precincts reporting. But Zurvalec said, "We're not done." She told supporters that after a previous $100 million bond issue defeat in 1997, the district conducted focus groups with "no" voters and worked to regain their support. 

She urged volunteers and staff who campaigned for the bond to celebrate their hard work. 

8:44 p.m. Twitter note from Eric Lindquist, who was at Dunckel Middle School at 7:50 p.m. "374 ballots cast in Precinct 9! Must have picked up in the afternoon." Vote tally with all but one precinct reporting: 6856 yes, 7898 no. 

8:30 p.m. Oakland County's new system of uploading election results appears to be working without a hitch tonight. With 23 of 27 precincts reporting, the current count is 6709 in favor of the bond, and 7404 opposed. 

12:30 p.m. Early morning traffic seemed light in Tuesday's election, with a half-dozen polling places in Farmington and Farmington Hills reporting fewer than 100 walk-in votes cast. 

City clerks on Friday said that more than 6,000 absent voter (AV) ballots had been returned. In Farmington Hills, workers at city hall are processing AV ballots. In Farmington, election workers tallying AV ballots at the polls report seeing more of those than walk-in voters.

At Farmington High School, where Precinct 3 and 4 voters cast their ballots, nearly 270 of the 332 ballots processed by around 10 a.m. were from absent voters. Election workers said the turnout was steady after the polling place opened at 7 a.m.

Farmington Precinct 6 workers, at Our Lady of Sorrows parish, reported only three people were waiting in line at 7 a.m. Their turnout at around 10 a.m. was just 26 walk-in voters and 189 absent voter ballots. 

Poll worker Walter Girbach, who has been working elections since 1998, predicted about a 25 percent voter turnout for Precinct 2, at The Crossing Church in Farmington. Shortly after 10 a.m., 136 ballots had been cast, with another 120 absent voter ballots left to be counted. 

"It's been heavier than I would have thought. I think we're going to hit 25 percent (voter turnout)," he said. "I might be a little optimistic."

---- 

This is it, Farmington school district residents! You decide whether to authorize $222 million in bonds to finance improvements to K-12 buildings, technology upgrades and high school athletic field replacements.

Patch will be covering this election throughout the day, right up until the final local votes are reported.

We've published Election Day information in Need To Know: Tuesday's Farmington Public Schools Bond Election, and you can check our Schools and Government sections for more election coverage.