A special election
on two bond proposals for the Wayland Union school district will be held Tuesday, May 2.
Voters will be asked to consider two bond proposals that will add a new upper elementary school for fourth and fifth grades, add a new wing to the middle school to accommodate all sixth-graders, improve safety and security, add a new swimming pool, install artificial turf at the football and track stadium, and pay for other facility upgrades.
The issue has been split into two bond proposals, one essentially for academic facilities and the other essentially for athletic facilities.
Proposal 1 — $34.1 million cost
Passage of this proposal will expand educational space, enhance safety and security, upgrade technology, and upgrade infrastructure in five school buildings.
Highlights include building a new elementary school for grades 4 and 5 across from the Transportation Building just south of the high school on Wildcat Drive. School officials assert the district’s continued growth in population has caused overcrowding in lower elementary classrooms. Enrollment projections are for 264 more students in the next five years and the district has already seen an increase of 185 new students in the past five years.
The proposal also would fund the addition of a new wing to the current junior high so that the new middle school would take in all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. Sixth-graders then could take advantage of music rooms and additional athletic options.
If proposal 1 is approved, the district would sell the 75-year-old Pine Street Elementary building to be repurposed in the community. The Pine Street gym still would be used by the district for community recreation programs and for athletics.
School officials have indicated t
hat the cost of building a new elementary school is nearly the same as adding on to each of the elementary buildings at Pine, Steeby, Baker and Dorr.
Proposal 2 — $20.845 million cost
Passage of Proposal 2 would add a new pool onto the high school and convert the old pool space into new Robotics and Computer Aided Design (CAD) labs, and an updated auto shop. The growing band and orchestra programs would then have new and larger rehearsal space added in the former auto shop. The old pool conversion also would create new community locker rooms for the fitness center and pool.
The current pool at Wayland High School Wayland’s pool is more than 42 years old and school officials insist it has exceeded its useful lifespan. The pool depth is not up to current codes and the mechanical systems of the pool are struggling to continue to operate, with parts hard to come by. The pool over the past several years has been closed often for repairs.
Proposal 2 approval also would add 12 new tennis courts and deal with excessive crown and drainage issues of the football field by converting it to synthetic turf. The eight current tennis courts by the middle school are unusable due to safety concerns caused by large cracks in the playing surface. The tennis courts by the high school would be removed and converted to additional needed parking space once the new courts are constructed and playable.
Tuesday May 2, the Wayland Union Schools will ask the public to approve a $54+ million bond. By their own account (in a recent district-wide email) here are the 7 arguments being used by the administration on behalf of the board of education:
1 – The needs are now and a number of projects can’t wait much longer.
Re-prioritizing the $1.5-1.8 million in ANNUAL casino revenue to cover could mean that “the needs…and a number of projects” won’t have to “wait much longer.” – that might well mean, no more commitments to take out bank loans for iPads, buses or science (or other subject matter) classrooms – because after 6 years, at about $1.5 million revenue per year the Gun Lake Casino, which opened in 2011, has generated about $10 million for the district.
2 – Our enrollment is steadily increasing and we are running out of classroom space.
By the districts’ own figures, enrollment is increasing ANNUALLY by an average of 45 students per year across 13 grade levels. That works out to 3.5 students per grade level. At the elementary level, where K-6 there are 8 sections/classrooms per grade level, less than ONE new pupil per classroom. That’s the sort of growth that is not altogether unmanageable.
3 – Class sizes will increase unless more classroom space is added in our school district.
The administration and board have not released any data to demonstrate past, present and/or future projections of class size and/or student-teacher ratios.
4 – We need to accommodate growing fine arts programs such as band and orchestra.
When elective course or subject matter enrollment exceeds facilities the options include building more facilities OR limiting elective course enrollment.
5 – Many large or expensive maintenance projects are due to be addressed now or very soon.
Re-prioritizing the $1.5-1.8 million in ANNUAL casino revenue to cover could mean that “the needs…and a number of projects” won’t have to “wait much longer.” – that might well mean, no more commitments to take out bank loans for iPads, buses or science (or other subject matter) classrooms – because after 6 years, at about $1.5 million revenue per year the Gun Lake Casino, which opened in 2011, has generated about $10 million for the district.
6 – Our existing pool has surpassed its useful life cycle (40+ yrs.) and replacement parts are difficult to find.
Consider this option – CLOSE THE POOL.
Or remodel it – extensively – there are companies who specialize in doing exactly that far less expensive than $17 million.
Or work collaboratively with area townships, City of Wayland and perhaps even the Gun Lake Tribe to build a free-standing natarorium operated by a recreation authority so the school district gets out of the pool business altogether.
7 -We have closed our tennis courts near the MS as they are no longer safe to use due to deterioration of the surface necessitating replacement.
Re-prioritizing the $1.5-1.8 million in ANNUAL casino revenue to cover could mean that “the needs…and a number of projects” won’t have to “wait much longer.” – that might well mean, no more commitments to take out bank loans for iPads, buses or science (or other subject matter) classrooms – because after 6 years, at about $1.5 million revenue per year the Gun Lake Casino, which opened in 2011, has generated about $10 million for the district.
Conclusion — I voted no by absentee ballot several weeks ago. These bond proposals simply need to be rewritten to reflect needs and not wants AND in the future I’d like to see the board offer the voters more options – perhaps as many as 5 – instead of just 2.