Urbana school board planning for future without sales tax

URBANA – On Tuesday, Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden will finish counting the 330 or so absentee ballots for the county's final vote tally.

If 301 of those people vote for the proposed 1 percent countywide sales tax for school facilities, they will overturn the tax's failure and enable the county to start collecting.

But don't hold your breath.

The chance of an overwhelming majority – on an issue that divided county voters by less than 0.5 percent – is "about as long as the stars in the universe," Shelden said.

So, in the wake of the tax's probable failure, the Urbana school board will meet Tuesday evening to discuss what to do next now that the district can't expect $3 million in new taxes starting in October 2009.

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• Obituaries