WAVERLY -- Wapsie Valley School District administrators say they will file a petition to have results from Tuesday's school bond referendum recounted.

Superintendent Chad Garber said they need 15 signatures to force a recount. District officials have until 5 p.m. Monday to file the paperwork.

The two-part referendum fell about nine votes short of passing. Residents approved a measure that would allow the district to use $8 million in bonds to build two elementaries in Readlyn and Fairbank. But a second question failed that would have allowed the district to raise the maximum tax levy to $4.05 per $1,000 of assessed taxable property valuation. Both questions needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass.

The decision to file recount papers came after the Bremer County Board of Supervisors canvassed the ballots Friday. The final tally for the first measure showed 863 votes in favor, 557 against. The second measure accumulated 844 yes and 575 no votes, according to the Bremer County Auditor's Office.

The referendum represented the second time the idea for two schools faced a vote. In December, a similar plan received 46 percent approval.

Garber said he was disappointed the last bunch of votes didn't turn up but said the district would eventually come out stronger from this.

"Even at times like this, there has been a lot of good that has come out of this process," Garber said.

The district still faces some serious challenges, including a number of citations by the State Fire Marshal's Office for violating fire code. Among the problems are narrow hallways that should be wider, outdated electrical systems and poor means of escaping a blaze.

School officials said they'll have to prioritize the needs of both buildings, which are more than 70 years old.

Meanwhile, the Oran Community Sanitation District said they have asked the Fayette County Attorney's Office, sheriff's office and Iowa Attorney General's Office to investigate phone calls that appeared to come from a telephone at their lagoon site.

A statement from the district board said the phone is in a locked closet at the building, which wasn't used to make the calls. "We hope that this action didn't affect the outcome of the election," the statement said. "However, we do feel the action was dishonorable and illegal."

The automated calls, which were anonymous, opposed the school bond. They were placed Monday and Tuesday. The board said anyone with information about the calls should call the Fayette County Sheriff's Office at (563) 422-3324.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.