BRONSON, MI — The Bronson Community Schools board is asking voters in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election to approve the school building bond issue that lost by 44 votes in May
Unlike before the May election, signs in support of a “Yes” vote appear in yards in the six townships and the city of Bronson that comprise the school district.
The board and community committee, who started working on the plan to bring the aging school building up to date in 2019, hope more supporters will turn out on Tuesday.
In the May vote, voters in Gilead, Noble, Bethel, and the city of Bronson supported the bonds. Those in Matteson, Batavia, and Bronson townships voted a majority against the millage.
Only 23% of registered voters in the district cast ballots in May.
The board passed the bond election resolution at its meeting on Aug. 11. The board reduced the requests from $32.33 million to $29.91 million, but the requested millage remains the same at 4.92 mills for a 25-year term.
Construction plans remain essentially unchanged. The board removed the updated football stadium lighting but left the conversion of the current six-lane track to the required eight lanes for hosting sanctioned inter-school races.
New lighting for the football stadium, made necessary by the track expansion, would come from the school sinking fund millage.
Overcrowded Ryan Elementary has outdated facilities that cannot be renovated or upgraded economically.
The plan designed by architect Tower/Pinkster for Anderson Elementary turns the building into a K-5 center, closing the small, aging, inadequate 75-year-old Ryan.
The board decided it could explore future use of the Ryan property, possibly in collaboration with the city of Bronson, once the bonds are passed.
Anderson also needs work. Besides the addition to accommodate over 200 Ryan students, bond proceeds would replace outdated mechanical equipment, upgrade building temperature controls, and modernize its electrical infrastructure to meet current codes.
At Anderson, the construction would replace exterior windows and doors to enhance energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.
With the addition, work includes technical and security upgrades, as well as refurnishing the current Anderson building while furnishing the addition.
Cut from the first proposal was the reconstruction of the school’s tennis courts, while the school board seeks alternative funding sources.
Except for the state-allowed sinking fund millage, limited to maintenance and repairs, which voters approved through 2028 at 1.9766 mills, the district collects no other building millage.
In Michigan, school buildings are the responsibility of local districts and receive no state funding.
Superintendent Kate Wall said with no current bonds, “Any request raises taxes, but the need remains to house and educate Bronson district school students properly.”
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson schools proposal back before voters Tuesday
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
