Manchester Schools $12.6 Million in Debt to the School Bond Loan Fund
Manchester school district is currently in debt to the School Bond Loan fund almost 12.6 million dollars according to the state of Michigan and is now asking voters to approve a $3.6 million bond. Next week, on Tuesday the 5th of August, Manchester area voters will need to choose whether or not to support the bond. What is this bond for, what does it mean for you, and what does it mean for the schools?
Manchester schools currently owes the school bond loan fund almost $12.6 million. Of the 136 schools that have balances with the fund in 2014, the average owed is 12.2 million. Other neighboring schools that carried a balance with the fund in 2014 include Saline (31.1 million), Chelsea (3.9 million), Grasslake (5.3 million), and Dexter (11.7 million).
The current bond the school is asking for is for a little over $3.6 million and would be financed over about 25 years. The money would be available for the schools to borrow for the next eight years. The school board determined that 3.6 million was needed by listing necessary projects and getting estimates for the cost of completing those projects. Initially the total was $5 million, but they didn’t feel comfortable asking the voters for so much. They went back to their list of projects and pared it down. When the dust cleared, the board decided that technology, security, and buses were their highest priorities, and those projects required $3.6 million.
$1.8 million (50%) of the bond money will be used for technology. Upgrading wireless and network infrastructure, upgrading computer labs and classroom multimedia systems, and -- over the course of the next 8 years -- replacing the mobile devices for all students are some of the projects financed by the bond. Superintendant Vanatter described the changes to the classroom that have resulted from changes in the workforce, citing a move toward more collaborative and project-based learning and working. Technology enhances this move away from a "sit and get" lecture style environment and without it schools cannot adequately prepare students for college or the work force.
About $1.1 million will be used to enhance security at the buildings. The biggest security concern is the high school. When you enter the high school you are in a large open area that, at certain times of the school day, is filled with students. There is no point, when entering the building, at which guests must stop and sign in. In the Ackerson building, there are no security measures in place, despite the fact that it houses the district offices, the Community Resource Center, two different pre-schools, and other rented spaces and can be -- depending on time of day -- at once public and seemingly deserted. One of the first things the district would like to do is add a building wide public address system. $150,000 of the $1.1 million will be spent on a federally mandated enhanced 911 system. The enhanced 911 system allows for the specific classroom from which the call originated to be identified, not just the school building.
Finally, $650,000 will go towards replacing buses. Over the next 8 years it will allow the schools to replace 4 regular buses and 2 special needs (lift) buses. The typical life span for a bus in Manchester is 8-10 years, at which point the maintenance costs become so great it makes more economical sense to replace it.
The schools are asking for the voters to approve a bond now so that it need not dip any further into savings and in order to borrow during an advantageous window. The School Bond Loan Fund is quickly nearing its $1.8 billion cap, which once reached, becomes unavailable until July of 2016. The cap was established in 2012 and limits when schools may borrow from the fund. Loans from the fund are on beneficial terms. If the schools became unable to make a payment, the state would be required to lend them the shortfall, in effect, guaranteeing the debt. If the revenue from the millage did not generate enough money to cover the debt service, the school district would have the option of borrowing the difference from the state. The interest rate is atypically low, which permits for a lower millage.
What does it mean for you? If the bond passes it will increase taxes .94 mills. That translates into $94 for every $100,000 of your home's State Equalized Value (SEV). The Manchester Bond website has a tax calculator that takes into consideration personalized factors for a more detailed tax estimation. For a home with a SEV of $60,000, a household income of $75,000, and two dependents, taxes will go up $47.
If the bond does not pass, the schools will be without this planned maintenance. The enhanced 911 system, which is mandated by federal law, will have to be paid for by the Pleasant Lake Capital Improvements Fund. Superintendent Vannatter said “we used to budget for these things but now we need the money for the classrooms. There is no extra money to set aside.” In the past ten years, the schools have cut over $8 million from the budget. Declining tax revenue and state funding already caused the district to dip into rainy day funds this year.
One more informational community forum is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29 at 6:30 pm in the Boardroom of the Ackerson Building, 410 City Road, Manchester Village.
Previous Manchester Mirror article regarding the bond
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