Election day is coming up, and this year's ballot features an $81 million bond proposal for the Chelsea school district. WEMU's Lisa Barry speaks to Chelsea schools superintendent Dr. Julie Helber about what this proposal, if approved, will do for the district's infrastructure.
About 2019 Chelsea School District Bond Proposal
The Chelsea School District Board of Education is asking the community to vote on a NO TAX RATE INCREASE bond proposal on November 5, 2019. If approved, it would provide district-wide improvements to address identified and ongoing facility needs based on years of strategic planning, facility assessments, and community input.
If approved by voters, the bond proposal would generate $81,000,000 to complete the district-wide improvements and was developed to create safe and modern schools, and address the aging facilities.
The Bond would be sold in 3 series protecting the District for the next 10-15 years. The total square footage of the buildings across the district is 660,000. The average age of the District's school buildings is 49 years old. The State of Michigan defines the useful life of a school building at 40 years. Many core infrastructure systems have outlived their expected life cycles.
The District has continued to address preventative maintenance as much as possible; simply to the point where systems can no longer be just be repaired but should be replaced.
In addition, the District has not addressed the changing needs of our students inside of the classrooms with flexible learning environments that promote collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication. This bond will support modern learning environments for our students.
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu