Eastpointe Community Schools bond proposal passes

EASTPOINTE — Building updates throughout Eastpointe Community Schools are in the district’s future.

During the primary election Aug. 8, the district’s school building and site bond proposal was approved by the voting majority.

According to the official results from the Macomb County Clerk’s Office, there were 2,127 “yes” votes and 1,499 “no” votes.

School officials placed the $36.4 million bond proposal on the ballot to generate funding to pay for improvements to school facilities across the district. The bond proposal is part one of an overall plan to address student needs at every grade level. The $36.4 million bond is replacing maturing bond debt. According to school officials, the bond issue will extend the current tax rate for the entirety of the bond and will not require any tax rate increase to complete the projects.

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I thank the Eastpointe Community Schools’ voters. In the coming months, we will keep the community informed as we move forward with the bond proposal projects,” Superintendent Christina Gibson said in a prepared statement. “We are so excited to get started and share our progress. Again, I am grateful to the parents, students, and other members of the community who helped us inform residents about the bond proposal. Thank you to the Eastpointe community for your continued support.”

A bond proposal is developed by the school district and presented to the voters. When a bond proposal passes, the bonds are sold in the capital markets at a date determined by the district, a financial adviser and an underwriter. Upon closing, funds generated from the bond sale are deposited in the district’s construction fund and are available to spend for completion of the projects contemplated in the bond proposal.

Projects are scheduled for all nine buildings in the district, including four elementary schools, Eastpointe Middle School, Eastpointe High School, the Early Learning Center, the Alternative Center, and the operations and transportation building.

Bond dollars will be used for safety and security improvements, facility upgrades and technology updates. That includes everything from roofing to heating and cooling to playgrounds.

According to Caitlyn Kienitz, the district’s communications and marketing coordinator, school officials will meet this fall to start planning out the projects and seek additional community input.

“At that point, they can get started on the engineering and planning work,” she said via email. “We are hoping to start some work by summer 2024.”

The work won’t be done all at once and is expected to take approximately five years. At press time, school officials were planning to give a bond presentation at the Aug. 28 Board of Education meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. at Eastpointe City Hall, 23200 Gratiot Ave.

Eastpointe voters last approved a $23 million bond issue in 2009, which focused on needs at the secondary level.

Information about the proposal is available on the school district’s website at eastpointeschools.org under the “bond election info” heading. Click on the school bond info link, which includes a list of projects per school building.