SCOTTVILLE — A Northern Michigan school district, hoping the fourth time is the charm to get a bond proposal passed to help with old buildings, make kids safer and improve facilities.
The district has tried to pass a bond in 2021, 2022, and 2023 to pay for aging infrastructure, upgrade safety and security and some other amenities which initially included a turf football field and auditorium.
The superintendent, Jeff Mount, said they reduced the ask and are requesting a 2.15 mil bond, totaling more than $22 million over the next 30 years.
“We have knocked off some things, but the problem is, is escalation of costs keeps going up, right?” Mount said. “It’s a two-bond series ask. So, in 2026, we will generate about $8 million of that, and in 2028 will generate the rest of that through a second bond sale. And that will cover a lot here at the district of our priorities and our needs.”
Mount said this year’s proposal was reduced from the last time they tried to pass a split bond back in 2023, totaling $31 million.
The money would go towards updating the district’s aging buildings.
The high school alone hasn’t had any major renovations since 1959.
“Even our newest building, our upper elementary, built in 2007, that’s going on almost 20 years old,” Mount said. “They get old and tired, too, because these buildings get used a lot. You know, our kiddos are at them every day.”
Mount said they also want to make security improvements to school entrances, making it harder for the public to have access to the students and installing additional pedestrian safety measures in parking lots and driveways.
“When we exit for the end of the day at 3:15 each day, we are putting all of our bus riders, all of our pickup and drop-offs offs and all of our pedestrians walking out right here,” he said. “That’s 900 kids, you know, coming out at the same time, you know.”
Mount said the bond would also help bring the district’s learning environments into the 21st century.
“Our AO Carlson Gym, which is an auxiliary gym now, was our original, but it’s got a stage at the end, and we need to upgrade. We can’t even buy replacement lights for it anymore because everything’s LED.
Mount said if passed, the proposal would cost a homeowner $215 every year for every $100,000 of a home’s taxable value.
But taxpayers won’t see a tax rate increase because the current bond debt falls off in 2026. The superintendent says that is why they’ve decided to give the bond another go, and he hopes voters will agree that now is the time.
“We’re not asking for an increase. We’re just asking to extend what they’re currently paying. That will help this district for generations to come,” Mount said.
He said if it doesn’t pass, they will have to circle back to this in the future.
A no vote doesn’t make the problem go away. So, in the end, we have to come back. We have to come back and do this again,” Mount said.
For more information about the bond proposal, please click here.