By: Dean Vaglia | C&G Newspapers | Published October 25, 2024
CLINTON TOWNSHIP — After failing to secure approval for a bond earlier this year, L’Anse Creuse Public Schools is returning to the voters with an adjusted bond proposal this November.
Set at $188.7 million and scaled back from the May election’s $330 million proposal, the bond will be used to pay for facilities and technological upgrades across the district. The bond will not affect millage rates.
“This bond is covering the critical needs of the district as far as infrastructure, basic HVAC, roofs, things of that nature,” Assistant Superintendent Kathy Konon said.
Along with infrastructure upgrades, the bond will pay for security upgrades across the district’s buildings, improved technology in classrooms across the district, improved fields and playgrounds, the purchase of trailers and equipment for bands, new school buses and the replacement of worn-down features within the district’s buildings. Improvements targeted by the bond come from a needs assessment performed in September 2023 ahead of the May 2024 bond proposal.
While the district receives funding from the state, Superintendent Keith Howell says these funds are for operations rather than capital improvements and maintenance.
“Most of the funds that come into a school district from the state level are not supposed to be focused on your building infrastructure, and that’s where communities are looking to go to bond or in some cases, some districts have sinking funds that are used to maintain the buildings and keep them up to date, secure, safe and running smoothly,” Howell said. “When a roof goes on a building after 20-25 years, you have upgrades that you have to make and those are usually done through bond proposals and also through sinking funds in some districts.”
The bond proposal in November has many of the same items as the May proposal, though the creation of a fieldhouse and early childhood center were cut in order to bring the project down to the essential needs.
“We listened to the voters and readjusted this current bond to remove those two items to really focus on the infrastructure needs of the school district and how to maintain the facilities that we currently have,” Howell said.
L’Anse Creuse Public Schools last passed a bond in 2005. Mount Clemens Community Schools is the only district to go longer without a bond proposal and has not passed one since 2001. Clintondale Community Schools also has not passed a funding proposal since 2005, and its own sinking fund millage proposal failed in May.
“L’Anse Creuse has not had a bond since 2005, while there have been many districts that have had two, three and sometimes even four bonds in that time,” Howell said. “We’re doing great work with the funding that we’ve had over the years and it’s time to go to the voters to make sure that we have the correct resources and funding to maintain our buildings, have them up to date and keep our district proud of what it is.
In May, just over 10,500 voters within the district cast ballots on the initial proposal, declining the bond by a 6.4% margin. Harrison Township Clerk Adam Wit was certain a few more district residents would cast a ballot this time.
“I can tell you that turnout in November is going to be the highest that you’ll get for any election,” Wit said. “Presidential elections are always where you see your highest turnout. May turnout was 21.7%. To put it in perspective, November of 2020 turnout was 73.3%. If I had to guess, we’ll be a little bit higher than that.”
Should this bond fail, Howell says he will meet with the Board of Education about conducting a new needs assessment and returning to the voters with another bond proposal.
More information about the Nov. 5 bond proposal and how the bond will be used can be found at www.lc-ps.org/community/bond-election-information/. Konon encourages district residents with questions about the bond to call community relations at (586) 783-6300, ext. 1206, with any questions they have about the proposal.