The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Guest Column: Time is now to continue supporting schools
By Dick Lundy
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
I would like to use this opportunity to express a few thoughts about the Dexter Community Schools Bond Issue which will be presented to voters on May 6th.
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Why is there a bond issue?
Bond issues have been needed by virtually every school district in Michigan for decades in order to address major capital needs such as constructing new buildings and doing major maintenance, renovations and upgrades. Operational budgets do not have the ability to cover major capital outlay needs and these bond proposals are not related to the passage of Proposal A. Fortunately residents of the Dexter School District have an excellent history of approving Bond proposals (seven times in the past 30 years) which have provided the great facilities we currently have for our children.
Community members, teachers, support staff, administrators and board members have spent hundreds of hours reviewing needs and possible funding approaches during the past two years. This current Bond Proposal was delayed twice at the request of community members to provide them with the time they wanted to thoroughly study the various needs before making their final recommendations. In January of this year the School Board unanimously voted to accept the final committee recommendations. These recommendations were then approved by the State of Michigan in February for the May 6 vote.
A Bond Committee was established and recommended that the Board pursue a bond issue as the best way to address the district needs - while at the same time avoiding a tax rate increase for taxpayers. Their second major recommendation involved determining which needs should be included in the bond proposal and which needs should be postponed or eliminated. The needs were prioritized and then balanced with the communities willingness to support various projects.
Approximately $12 million was eliminated in the final recommendation to the Board of Education. I'm sure that everyone involved wanted to change something in the final recommendation, but ultimately decided this was the best package to present. The recommendation was unanimously supported by the community committee.
Is this the right time to pass a bond proposal?
There are many reasons why this is an excellent time to pass this proposal and address our needs now and for years to come.
First, the severity of need for many items will only increase if they are not addressed now and will likely cost more to fix in future years.
Second, bond interest rates are currently very low, which will reduce financing costs.
Third, the market is generating very favorable competitive bids from contractors trying to win contracts for their companies.
Fourth, passing a similar bond proposal in three to five years would cost much more but paying for it would start at the same point in time.
Passing the bond issue now will reduce the ultimate cost to district taxpayers.
Is this bond issue just about buildings or is it really about educating kids?
Passage of this bond issue is definitely about providing the resources and environment necessary to continue and build on the great things that are already happening in the Dexter Community Schools. Addressing safety and security issues is, unfortunately, a major concern in today's world. Building access needs to be tightly controlled and monitored. Pedestrian and vehicle safety at Wylie and pedestrian safety between Creekside and the high school is a high priority.
Renovating, upgrading and maintaining buildings is an important part of providing a supportive learning environment for our students. Reworking some classroom configurations is necessary to meet new state curriculum mandates. Upgrades provide an opportunity to increase our stewardship of resources by improving our energy efficiency, while also teaching students about being energy conscious.
Purchasing land for possible future growth needs will allow the Dexter schools to maintain our campus concept which allows and encourages sharing of professional staff, support staff and equipment between buildings, and eliminates the many problems associated with dividing students up into "neighborhood" schools.
Providing 10 year funding for technology in the classrooms is an integral part of teaching and learning and will create "Classrooms of Tomorrow" which are becoming increasingly necessary for effective teaching of all of our students while preparing them for the challenges of the complex, information based world of tomorrow.
Replacing equipment and upgrading facilities for our music programs, athletic programs, and community pool provides the necessary resources to maintain and continually build on our student successes in extracurricular activities which are an integral part of a well rounded educational experience.
Finally, by purchasing buses, coupled with energy savings and providing a solid financial base for keeping up with innovations and growth in technology, our general fund will be able to direct some additional funds into adding teachers and other support staff to regain some of the resources which have been lost in the past four to six years due to state funding issues.
Final thought
I hope you will join me in supporting this bond proposal. It is significant that Dexter Chamber of Commerce Board members and the Dexter Downtown Development Authority are supporting the passage of this bond because they understand that excellent schools are the heart of great communities. Talk with your friends and neighbors to be sure that they are informed and understand the importance of supporting our school system on May 6.
It is critical to our community to maintain and build on the excellence already occurring in our school district.
Be sure to study the recently released outstanding MEAP score achievements by our students - first in nine of 22 categories and in the top four scores in every category in Washtenaw county.
Dick Lundy is a member of the Dexter area school board.
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