By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Voters narrowly said no to one bond Tuesday: $9 million to repair college buildings, unofficial returns show.

Question 6 was rejected 197,005 to 194,649, or 50.3 to 49.7 percent, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Unofficial returns also show that voter turnout was 43 percent of Maine’s registered voters. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap predicted last week that turnout would be between 35 percent and 50 percent. For an off-year election, 43 percent is considered high.

The $9 million in the rejected bond would have been spent to repair buildings at the University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System. It would have also expanded the senior college program at the University of Southern Maine.

The bulk of the money, $5 million, would have gone to fix community college buildings. Locally, $700,000 would have been spent at Auburn’s Central Maine Community College for building repairs, classroom space and an energy-efficient heating system.

“It’s very disappointing,” Alice Kirkpatrick of the Maine Community College System said Thursday. “This came at a crucial time. We’ve had tremendous growth in the last three years. Enrollment has grown by 3,300, or 44 percent, in that time. “The facilities are being used to the max,” she said. The negative vote is a step back, Kirkpatrick said.

Officials said the college bond was the only one rejected because of its placement on the ballot: It was on the back page, the last bond question.

“Historically, when you have a long list of ballot questions that are not controversial, the one at the end tends to do worse than the ones higher up,” said John Diamond, spokesman for the University of Maine System.

Traditionally, Mainers tend to reject one bond “to be frugal,” said Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell, Senate chairwoman of the legislative Education Committee. And the college bond was the only one without a federal match.

Polling showed that some voters were opposed or undecided about borrowing $9 million to be spread out among so many institutions, Diamond said. In polling, voters said the small amount wasn’t worth borrowing.

And the public wasn’t told enough why that bond was important, Mitchell said. “We need to do a better job articulating to the voters.”

The other four bonds were approved with the following votes, unofficial returns show:

Question 2, borrowing $33.1 million for transportation: 272,411-130,922, or 67.5 percent to 32.5 percent.

Question 3, $8.9 million for water system improvements: 272,411-130,922, or 57.9 percent to 42.1 percent.

Question 4: $20 million for job growth, including improvements for the Lewiston-Auburn College’s career center: 233,853-166,471, or 58.4 percent to 41.6 percent.

Question 5: $12 million to preserve Maine land: 260,558-141,499, or 64.8 percent to 35.2 percent.