By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
STURGIS — Two out of the three local school districts with proposals on the Tuesday, May 5 ballot were successful with voters.
The one failed proposal was also the biggest out of the three monetarily. Sturgis Public Schools’ bid for a $98 million bond renewal that would have been an extension of the current millage with no tax rate increase was rejected by voters by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin, according to unofficial results.
Over 2,700 people in the Sturgis Public School district voted, with 1,501 people voting “No,” and 1,277 people voting “Yes” on the proposal, which would have included building and remodeling facilities, equipping and refurnishing, installation of instructional technology and improvement of athletic fields, playgrounds, facilities, structures and sites.
“While this is not the result that we were hoping for, we are grateful for the rich dialogue that we had throughout the bond proposal process,” Superintendent Art Ebert said in a midnight statement following the final results. “Our goal was to design a community led proposal and ensure that everyone had the information necessary to make an informed decision. Today’s turnout shows that we were successful at engaging the community. I would like to personally thank everyone that voted today, as well as all of the staff and community members that worked so hard over the past twelve months to bring this proposal to life and communicate it to the public.”
Moving forward, Ebert said in a follow-up email, all projects contained within the bond proposal will require either an alternative funding source, be reduced in scope with an alternative funding source or not be completed.
The most feasible options of new funding sources include the following:
- Revised bond proposal.
- Revised building and site sinking fund.
- Use of operational funds.
- Grants.
In the absence of a revised bond proposal, it is unlikely that all of the projects can be completed, Ebert said. That’s due to several factors:
- Building and site finding funds are capped at 3 mills for 10 years.
- Operational funds are prioritized for teaching, learning and personnel.
- Grants typically don’t fully fund large-scale projects.
“I feel that we went about building and communicating the proposal the right way,” Ebert said. “Having said that, this will provide us with an opportunity to engage with the community further to build a proposal that truly represents the wants and needs of our full community.”
In Colon, the sinking fund millage renewal proposal for Colon Community Schools was fairly comfortably approved by voters Tuesday, with 61.9 percent of voters (525 votes) voting “Yes” on the proposal, and 38.1 percent of voters (323 votes) voting “No.”
Three of the four jurisdictions that voted on the proposal – Colon Township in St. Joseph County and Matteson and Sherwood townships in Branch County – all had majority “Yes” votes by 13 to 25-point margins. Only one voter in Wakeshma Township in Kalamazoo County voted, voting “No” on the proposal.
The sinking fund renewal is expected to generate approximately $328,989 in the first year, and would be used strictly for construction or repair of school buildings, for school security improvements, and for the acquisition or upgrading of technology. These include high school roof repairs, air conditioning for the high school band room, the addition of a storage barn, ventilation for the elementary school gym, exterior work for the elementary school, water filters for elementary school drinking fountains, a number of updates to the Leonidas School, special education needs, and a parking lot replacement at the district’s athletic fields.
“For all the folks in my position, it’s always just a relief. It’s a lot of work by a lot of people, and I’m happy to have that behind us so that we can move forward with these projects and keep our facilities updated the way that they need to be,” Colon Community Schools Superintendent Rick Hilderley said in an interview Tuesday night. “It’s nice there won’t be any break in the collection so we can continue to plan and prepare. It also means we don’t have to think about digging into our General Fund to do these things.”
In Vicksburg, the school district’s $64 million bond renewal proposal was also approved by voters, with 56 percent of voters (1,714 votes between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties) voting “Yes,” and 44 percent (1,345 votes) voting “No.” Five precincts, including Mendon Township, had majority “Yes” votes for the proposal, while three precincts had majority “No” votes.
The proposal will see the Vicksburg Community Schools district’s 6.6-mill tax levy that’s been in place since 2020 be continued without an increase in the tax rate, and will address a number of needs in the district, including multiple improvements to its school facilities, a new transportation building, and a new tennis complex to replace the courts that are cracking.
“They say it takes a village, and tonight our village and school community demonstrated how much they value Vicksburg Community Schools,” Superintendent Keevin O’Neill said in a statement Tuesday night. “This is a huge investment for the future of our students. I’m looking forward to starting the planning phases for our future projects and look forward to sharing those plans in the near future.”
Dennis Volkert contributed additional reporting.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
