FORSYTH COUNTY — With strong support for its bond referendum Tuesday, the Forsyth County school system secured a funding source to build a new middle school and high school and make more than $80 million in improvements to the district’s existing campuses.

“I knew that Forsyth County cared about education and would support the kids and do what was best for the children of Forsyth County,” said Darla Light, who chairs the Forsyth County Board of Education. “We were thrilled.”

Some 13,630 voters, or about 64 percent of the total, supported issuing $195 million in general obligation bonds to fund the new facilities, about $9 million in transportation and more than $17 million toward technology.

Light acknowledged that support has been higher for previous bond measures, but they “haven’t had all the economic things we’ve been dealing with.”

“Coming out of a recession and the economic times we’ve had, this is really more than we expected,” she said. “We are thrilled with the 64 percent.”

Board member Ann Crow said the referendum’s passage was “crucial to the school system.”

Crow noted the county has never lost a bond or sales tax vote, which have been instrumental in enabling the school district to meet the growth challenges.

“We would have been in a mess if it had not [passed], and I think people understood that for the most part,” she said. “We have certainly been good stewards of taxpayer dollars and have built everything on time and under budget or at budget.”