ewton voters overwhelmingly approved a $5.7 million bond issue yesterday to pay for the initial phases of renovations to the city's two high schools, while Natick voters approved a $24.3 million bond issue for a new middle school.
The Newton question was approved 74 percent to 26 percent, according to unofficial results from the Newton public schools. The vote in Natick was 61 percent to 39 percent.
''I think the voters in Newton recognized the connection between quality schools and property values,'' said James Mahoney, who chaired Citizens for the Future of Newton, which supported the measure. ''They voted for the schools to maintain the quality of the city overall.
Meanwhile, in the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on the controversial MCAS test, ballots in a handful of districts included a non-binding resolution to suspend the exam as a graduation requirement. Because that vote occurred in districts scattered throughout the state, results were not available late last night.
Ballots in six districts - one each in Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Holyoke and two in New Bedford - included the MCAS resolution, which was crafted by the Massachusetts Labor Party. In addition to MCAS, the resolution opposes vouchers and for-profit charter schools and supports smaller class sizes and more money for public schools.
Anti-MCAS activists say approval of the question would send a strong signal to the Legislature that it should scrap the exam as a graduation requirement. But some point out that the message might be mixed, since the resolution deals with issues other than MCAS.
The Newton vote clears the way for the beginning of a seven-year project to renovate both Newton North and Newton South high schools. Both buildings are structurally sound, but they are too small to accommodate the expected growth in student enrollment. They also have outdated mechanical and electrical systems that can't support new technology.
The Natick bond issue was turned down last year by only 177 votes, and the debate this year bitterly divided the town.
