Voters in the Suttons Bay School District supported a $18.3 million bond proposal by a 55-45% margin Tuesday.
“We are grateful to the voters of our district for supporting this bond proposal that will positively impact every student and family in our district,” Superintendent Casey Petz said.
“Yes” votes outnumbered “no” votes 776-628.
“The passage of this proposal allows our district to address key issues related to student safety, energy management, boiler systems, and the removal of aging infrastructure that is a tremendous liability to the school district,” Petz said.
The Board of Education sought an engineering assessment last year to examine the condition and functionality of this older construction wing. The examination found current utilization of classroom space of the elementary school appears to be in good condition though. The middle school building was deemed to appear in good adequate shape, and the high school is comparatively in good condition.
The results stated the facilities “appear to be in disrepair and underutilized” and that in its current condition, “the size of the elementary school may not reflect the anticipated school occupancy numbers.”
The effort to right-size the district includes demolition of the vacant old middle school north wing. Other “improvements” to be made include is along with consolidation of softball and auxiliary fields, centralized restrooms and concessions, a relocated elementary playground, and a high school/elementary connector.
The campus grounds, in particular the parking lots, athletic fields, and vehicular access, were found “to be disproportionate to the needs of the school — which can be costly in terms of maintenance.” As a consequence, the report said adjacency and efficiency may be negatively affected.
Voter approval sets in motion the design phase of the proiect, which will take place between spring 2025 through fall 2028.
“The passage of this proposal allows our district to address key issues related to student safety, energy management, boiler systems, and the removal of aging infrastructure that is a tremendous liability to the school district,” Petz said. “We are excited to begin the next phase of the process and continue building a sustainable, modernized, and high quality school for all our students.”
Cost to the average homeowner in the school district is estimated to be $27.50 per year based on an expected .10-mill increase over 2023 levels.
In other election news, voters in the Leland school district approved 10.913 extra-voted millage on non-homestead properties just as they have for more than 25 years.
This year’s tally was 653 to 274 in favor.
“We are always so grateful for the voters’ confidence in our school as demonstrated by this renewal of the yearly operational millage,” Leland Superintendent Stephanie Long said. “Leland voters reaffirm every year that Leland Public School is essential to the health and wellbeing of our students, families, and our community, and our taxpayers’ support allows the school to continue to provide the high-quality education they trust and that our children deserve.”
