Whoops and cheers of joy could be heard throughout the administration building of Haywood Community College Tuesday night as college officials celebrated the passage of the quarter cent sales tax that will benefit the school.

The final tally was 56.7 percent for and 43.3 percent against.

To HCC President Rose Johnson, the results marked the end of a tireless effort to educate the public about the tax. It was a battle, Johnson said, of which she couldn’t predict the outcome until the final moments of the election.

“I have so much confidence in the college, but at the same time, I know it was asking a lot of the community. I am so overwhelmingly grateful to the community,” she said.

Interviews earlier in the day at the polls indicated that the college had been successful in its effort to get the word out. When asked what issues brought voters to the polls, many cited the sales tax, which they referred to simply as “the HCC tax.”

Support for the tax appeared widespread.

“As a former educator, it’s the only way I could vote,” said Sara Allen, a retired teacher from Canton.

“I came out for the HCC vote,” said Rachele Poole, 39, a full-time student at the college who voted in the Republican primary. “I have been a student and I think it will benefit the college.”

Poole said the sales tax struck her as a fair way for the county to share the burden.

“Instead of certain people having to carry the burden, it will be more even,” she said.

Eagles Nest resident Paula McElroy said the additional funding will make HCC competitive with other schools.

“I see other community colleges like AB Tech and I see how they’ve grown. HCC, at least for the past 10 years, has not grown a lot,” she said.

Not everyone supported the tax. Rachel Richardson, a voter in the Democratic primary at the Waynesville library, said she could support the college, but not the tax.

“They need to stop taxing people. I don’t believe in hiking taxes without first looking at the way funds are distributed,” she said.

“I’m against the tax — there are too many already,” added Waynesville resident and Democrat Don Thompson.

Those opposing the tax were overshadowed in the end, however. Now, the stream of revenue generated from the tax will be funneled to the college’s estimated $70 million worth of needs.