Schools

Bond Proponents Peppered with Questions at Forum

A second community forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Liberty School media center.

Proponents of the proposed proposed by Saline Area Schools are planning to address more questions from the public Monday at the Liberty School Media Center.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. A similar forum was held earlier this month on the proposal, slated for the Feb. 22 ballot.

The proposal, which is seeking funds to help reconstruct roofs, improve heating and cooling systems and plumbing, purchase buses and upgrade the districts technology, would not change the 7-mill capital tax levied on district voters. But it would extend the payment of the levy by six years, until 2031.

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Saline Area Schools Superintendent Scot Graden, Saline Mayor ProTem and city councilmen Brian Marl laid out the plans at the first public forum held Feb. 1.  Graden and Marl had presented the proposal several times before, but that forum was one of the first opportunities for the general public to question the plan.

If that meeting was any indication, officials will here people voice concern about a variety of issues. For instance, even though the tax rate will not be raised, several people at the first forum said they couldn't afford the plan.

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Judy McCoy said her taxes made up 60-70 percent of her mortgage right now.

“We cannot afford this. We cannot afford more taxes,” McCoy said. “I do not dispute that you have all those needs you laid out. But you do not address the ability to pay, and we have gone beyond the tipping point on our ability to pay.”

Graden, who had earlier pointed out that Saline has one of the lower capital millage rates in the county and gone the longest without adding more debt, said he believed district had the wherewithal to pay. He said one of the ways districts measure their ability to pay is by assessing its debt-to-property value ratio. Graden reported that, after Ann Arbor, Saline had one of the best debt-to-property value ratios in the county.

“We, in fact, do have the ability to pay and are better suited to pay than virtually everyone else in our area,” Graden said, later adding that the bond raters from Moody’s and Standard and Poors have given the district a favorable rating.

Another resident, Alphonso  Cruz, disputed the need for new roofs for some of the schools.

“I am a professional roofer. I live in front of Pleasant Ridge. It’s a beautiful roof. I’ve looked at it closely. Heritage is in great shape,” Cruz said, of schools in the area. “Who told you that you needed a new roof?”

Doug Bacon, the district’s director of facilities, fielded his question. He said the district has had the facilities studied by several companies.

“We’ve got shingles blowing off every time we have a wind storm. Plus some singles are curling. A couple of the roofs are 20 to 25-years-old. I can continue to patch them. I do it every single day,” Bacon said, offering to take Cruz on a tour of the buildings where work is planned.

An issue that was brought up on several occasions was the term of the bond. Mary Lirones was one of two people who asked about the issue.

“I am having trouble understanding how money collected between 2025 and 2031 gives you more money to spend now. If you spend the money now, what are you going to have to spend from 2025 to 2031?” she asked.

Graden said the district could be in the same position it finds itself in now.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be any different than what we have right now. We don’t have any working capital money from bonding right now. If needed working capital at that point, we’d have to determine what our options are,” Graden said.

Saline resident Paul Borger compared the district’s proposal to refinancing a home.

“It puts you back out to your 30-year term you originally had, but your mortgage goes down, providing the working capital,” Borger said.

Several questions indicated concerns with Saline’s day-to-day budget, which the district is trying to keep separate from the bond campaign.

McCoy asked what guarantees there are the district would not go into receivership.

Graden pointed out that districts in deficit-spending situations are there because of operational fiscal issues, which are typically a result of state funding and enrolment.  Graden pointed out that the district has reduced its operational budget by more than $2.5 million by closing Houghton and Union schools and by not hiring teachers to replace retirees. He noted that many in the district have sacrificed, like bus drivers, which saw a wage cut of up to $7 an hour. But, he said, there’s more to be done.

“I’m not going to sugar coat it and say there isn’t heavy lifting that needs to be done between now and next and next year as it relates to our budget,” Graden said.

He pointed out that money from a bond issue could not be used to pay teachers’ salaries and benefits.

Over the past month, school officials have said passing the bond extension in the February vote is imperative because it could be the district’s last chance to receive a state-qualified bond. According to school officials, passing up the money now would mean the same amount of work would be tied to an increase in the 7-mill tax rate.

That message resonated with Shannon Needham, who said her family chose to move to Saline because of its top-notch school facilities.

“We cannot afford not to do this,” said Needham. “If you wait, it costs more money. It’s a no-brainer.”

The new bond extension proposal has been scaled back from a $28 million proposal voters rejected in August, 2,782-2,629. 

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was altered to correct a quote by Shannon Needham)


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