Clawson schools to go for $25.5M bond in August election

CLAWSON — Just a couple of years after Clawson Public Schools was able to get approval on one bond proposal, it will be going for another later this summer.

On Aug. 8, there will be a ballot proposal that will ask voters whether or not to approve a bond for $25.5 million to help continue to fund and expand on district projects.

Back in 2021, the school district went for and received approval for a $55 million, zero-mill bond. Superintendent Billy Shellenbarger said that, even then, it was clear that the money would not be enough for the scope of work the district was going for, due to inflation costs, and that it would be around $6 million to $7 million short.

That scope of work included replacing aging mechanical and electrical with energy-efficient systems in the high school; a new two-story, 18-classroom middle school building; 30 renovated classrooms in the elementary schools; and 21st century classroom technology and furnishings at the early childhood center.

Shellenbarger said the district had multiple options moving forward, which included cutting millions in the work’s scope or going to the state to figure out how much money the district could get in the form of another bond, which the district did. The answer was $25.5 million.

“This is likely a once-in-a-25-, 30-year opportunity where we can do this work and truly not raise our residents’ taxes,” he said.

As with 2021, the superintendent said the bond is a zero-mill bond, which will be no tax increase for residents and allow the district to finish the scope of the 2021 work and complete additional projects that the district originally wasn’t able to include in that scope, which includes new painted ceilings, furniture, and new exterior windows and doors.

“In the 2021 bond, for example, we did not have all-new exterior windows, exterior doors. Well now, if the 2023 Bond passes, that will be a part of it,” Shellenbarger said.

“Our Early Childhood Center, we’re going to add approximately $3 million more to that space on top of the $6 million that we were going to invest in the 2021 bond. We would add another $3 million to that through the 2023 bond proposal to ensure that our Early Childhood Center is state of the art, it has room for growth, meaning additional classrooms because we have waiting lists right now.”

For those wondering where exactly the money comes from, Director of Finance and Business Services for Clawson Public Schools Kevin Taratuta said the money they get to pay the bond is from property taxes.

“We’re fortunate that with most property owners, they saw a significant increase in their property tax values, and essentially the mill would come off of those tax values,” he said. “From our last bond that we issued in ’21 through this year, that increase in taxable value has allowed us to leverage an additional $25.5 million without actually having to increase any of the millage rate. So we are beneficiaries of essentially property tax increases to be able to do this.”

Shellenbarger added that there would be no change to residents’ property tax this year, which he said he knows is extremely important to residents.

“Depending on what your household income is and what your needs are, a $100 increase a year could be significant to someone and not nearly as significant to someone else,” he said. “So being able to say that there is a $0 increase to your annual taxes is crucial.”

“This opportunity is one that, to be able to do it in ’21 and then again in ’23, so soon at zero mills with no increase, that’s essentially unheard of and we’ve never seen that before,” he continued.

For more information on the bond, visit clawsonbond2023.com.