Another bond proposal may face voters as early as Nov. 7

A new and revised bond proposal may face voters in the Wayland Union school district as early as Nov. 7.

The Board of Education held a special meeting Monday night to talk about the two bond issues, totaling about $55 million, that failed by wide margins in May 2 election. Discussions in front a little more than a dozen observers were about what went wrong last Tuesday and about what should be done next.

Board President Gary Wood said, “Last Tuesday, wet got a good, clear communication that they (the bond proposals) were not acceptable.”

Superintendent Norm Taylor said the official tally was that more than 3,000 people voted, a very high number for a bond election, The tally for Proposal I was 1,959 no to 1,103 yes and for Proposal II it was slightly less popular with 2,011 to 1,049 yes.

Proposal I, for $34 million, essentially focused on academic facilities with plans to add a sixth-grade wing to the junior high and move out of Pine Street Elementary and build a new elementary for fourth-and fifth-graders on school-owned land adjacent to the transportation building. Proposal II, for $21 million, was to build a new swim poll at the high school, use the vacated space for metal shop and expanding band and musical programs, repairing the football field and install artificial turf and build 12 new tennis courts.

Trustee Cinnamon Mellema said she heard negative chatter about lack of bidding for construction of the project, but spokesmen for Tower Pinkster Architects and Triangle Construction said they were bid just like they always had been.

Taylor said four bids were solicited for construction manager before Triangle was chosen. Trustee Pete Zondervan said it was “because the thinking was that the construction manager had done a good job in the past and had a good, working knowledge of the school district.”

Taylor reported that only 41 percent of the school bond elections held across Michigan had a positive result. Some neighboring districts won approval, but the issues were for renewals.

The superintendent said it is important Wayland schools come back to the voters fairly quickly because the needs are still there and costs continue to rise. He added that the wording for a bond proposal in the Nov. 7 election would have to be submitted to the state by Aug. 15.

Wood noted the board plans to have its regular monthly meeting Monday, May 15, at the junior high, so members have a week to think things over and talk to members of the community about what went wrong.

He suggested the board remove the two biggest ticket items, the new fourth- and fifth-grade school and the swimming pool and then see how much support there is for what is left.

“I don’t think people voted uninformed,” he said. “Two thousand people decided to vote no.”

Mellema said the board’s immediate task is to find out what a majority of voter will support.

Board members said they were disappointed because they spent almost two years having community forums, which apparently attracted many supportive people, but not “no” voters.

It appeared the massive cost was a major factor, Zondervan said.

“It was hard to gulp down this dollar amount,” he said.

It was suggested there still is a hangover from the board’s decision 14 years ago to close Moline Elementary and let it finally be sold at a cheap price.

Wood said, “The whole time I’ve been on the school board, it’s been a huge issue. I totally get it. We need to understand it and respect it.”

Taylor said he understands the emotional reactions about closing Pine Street, a 75-year-old building near the heart of downtown, but he remains concerned about making financial investments in an aging structure just to bring it up to modern codes.

Wood added, “You can only do so much to an older facility to bring it up to modern codes.”

Maintenance Supervisor John Huyck estimated that it would cost just shy of $10 million to bring Pine Street up to code and take care of its infrastructure needs. He said building a new school wouldn’t cost very much more.

Board Treasurer Tony Ordway asked, “What about the sixth-grade addition to the junior high and moving all fourth- and fifth-graders into Pine Street?” She said it might buy the district some time before building a new school.

Taylor said the longer the school district waits to close Pine Street, the less it will get from a buyer and the more it will have to invest in an aging facility.

Ordway then confessed she is not ready to give up on building a new swimming pool. The current pool is 42 years old, too often malfunctioning and is not fit for interscholastic competition.

“I’d like one more go at the pool,” she said. “I’d like to give it one more chance.”

But she noted that if the board decides to have another community forum, it won’t be productive because the “no” voters probably will stay home, like they did until the last election.

Taylor pointed out that in most communities, only 25% to 30% of the voters are parents of kids in school, so they don’t feel like they have a stake in the election’s outcome.

“Realistically, we have to move 500 to 600 voters from the ‘no’ column to the other column,” he commented.

Becky Hohnke, one of the people in the audience, told the board they need to sent out mailers to every household in the district rather than rely solely on the Internet and the media.

She also said she didn’t like the idea of “rushing’ the vote for Nov. 7. Todd Fox, who chaired one of the bond proposal committees, agreed with her.

Erin Jasinski strongly urged the board to have another community forum very quickly because it’s worth a try.

Scott Mellema suggested a survey monkey for more input, but Director of Instruction Teresa Fulk said, “Our challenge will be to get the word out to people who don’t have or don’t use the Internet but we have plans in place for that through mailers.”

The board will attempt to decide what to do next at its 7 p.m. meeting May 15 at the junior high cafeteria.

PHOTOS: Superintendent Norm Taylor (left) and Trustee Pete Zondervan appear grim during deliberations.

Treasurer Tony Ordway explains a point to Board President Gary Wood.