The referendum for District 428 passed with an approval rate of more than 60 percent.

Voters in Tuesday’s primary election supported DeKalb Community Unit School District 428’s latest referendum, funding upgrades and expansions throughout the school district.

Prior to the final vote, supporters gathered at O’Leary’s Irish Pub & Grill, 260 E. Lincoln Highway, to wait for results.

When all the ballots were counted, 46 precincts participated in the vote, and the referendum passed with a 63.81 percent approval rate.

“I organized the poll watchers for today,” said Mary Hess, president of the District 428 Executive Parent Advisory Council. “This has been like a sporting event for me. It seems even bigger than the Super Bowl.”

Excitement built as the night went on, especially as numbers remained in favor of approval.

“So far, it’s wonderful,” said District Superintendent Paul Beilfuss.

“We expected a high turnout because the excitement of Obama would bring out a lot of voters,” said Community Relations Liaison Russ Fletcher. “We couldn’t get yard signs up fast enough; there are about 1,500 in the area. The interest is strong.”

The referendum is for the first phase of a two-phase project intended to first expand the number of students the district can serve and then bring equality to all schools within the district, school board president Mike Verbic said in a Jan. 17 Northern Star article.

“This is a good thing,” said Brenda Farnum, parent of two children at DeKalb High School. “My oldest son is the last to graduate from the old high school, and my other son will be the first to go all the way through the new high school.”

Adults were not the only ones showing their support at O’Leary’s. Some concerned students of District 428 were present as well.

“Hopefully, I’ll see the changes while I’m still there,” said Micah Haji-Sheikh, a DeKalb High School freshman. Her younger brother Merrick, a seventh-grader at Clinton Rosette Middle School, will witness the various changes.