A judge in New Mexico has turned aside a legal challenge that had threatened to postpone several large construction projects in the Albuquerque school district.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the ruling came in a lawsuit filed by property owner and attorney Robert Pidcock, who challenged the validity of a $575 million bond and levy proposal approved by voters in February.
Judge Nan Nash ruled that although the wording of the district's ballot proposal did not comply with the state's election statute, that did not prevent citizens from casting an informed vote. She concluded that the law required her to give deference to the election results, in which 65 percent of voters approved the funding measures.
“Based on the testimony and evidence here, I do not find the language obstructed … casting of the vote,” she said.
Unless the state Supreme Court is asked to hear an appeal, Nash’s ruling clears the way for the construction on projects to go forward.
The district already has begun work on five projects, but the district had warned that if did not have access to the bond and levy proceeds, it would have to halt construction in October.
