On May 2, school district voters will head to the polls to vote on a $73,400,000 bond extension for the Brandon School District.
The funds from the bond extension will be used by the district for a variety of needs including, modernization of technology, construction of a new elementary school and construction of a new activities complex. If approved, the bond extension will not increase the school millage cost to a homeowners, rather extend the current loan of about $29 million another six years.
Since details of the bond extension were first introduced last December, several key concerns have been brought to the attention of The Citizen. Tom Miller, Brandon School superintendent responded to some of these questions.
Q:Why is an Activities Complex at a cost of an estimated $7 million necessary?
A: The cost of the Activities Complex is actually less than 10 percent of the total bond. The district technology upgrade is approximately $11 million and is the largest single expenditure of all of the projects. Historically, the 1979 bond issue (which funded the current high school) provided the community with a master plan, which included a future facility of this type. During the 1996 bond issue, (which funded the current Brandon Middle School and other district-wide improvements), a complex of this type was proposed. However, a separate soccer facility made more sense at that time. Thus, a complex of this type was not constructed then.
In recent years, utilizing the current Varsity Drive Complex has become a logistical nightmare. Transportation of required equipment (needed to run current programs and maintain the complex) is no longer cost effective. There are safety issues when student-athletes travel along the bike path. Moving kids from site to site takes additional time and expense. It takes instructional time from the activity, as well as valuable homework and family time.
The Varsity Drive Complex is impossible for physical education and band classes to use. It has no locker and/or shower facilities for students and the restroom facilities are not handicap accessible. Currently, student athletes change clothing in the H.T. Burt parking lot in full view of elementary students and the public. This practice is no longer acceptable.
There is very little parking, especially when multiple activities such as tennis, baseball, or football events are being held concurrently with Harvey-Swanson/H.T. Burt Elementary activities. The new complex would add approximately 400 new parking spaces.
Since all current fields are natural turf, the band and physical education classes cannot use the fields following inclement or marginal weather. This has been due to grass turf ‘healing? time requirements. Growing demand for field time from school and community groups requires more field time which is not always available. The proposed complex would have a synthetic turf. Therefore, band, dance and cheer activities, as well as physical education classes and sports would be able to use the facility back to back almost 24/7 with little or no preparation between events. Many of the expenses related to maintaining a natural turf field would be reduced, and in some cases eliminated. This could save the district more than $10,000 to $20,000 per year. Still, other expenses would be offset through revenue received from rental. The Varsity Drive facility would continue to be maintained at its current high level as a secondary activities complex.
The proposed complex would be a community asset, which may become a desirable revenue-producing venue for the district and community. Activities could include hosting regional/state level band and sporting competitions as well as community activities. We currently have over 285 middle school through high school students participating in track. Logistically, having that many students attempting to simultaneously practice at the same facility, has become a monumental challenge. One facility cannot handle such a multi-faceted need, and the problem will continue as the district grows. Finally, the proposed Activities Complex is really a community-wide investment for all to use and enjoy.
Q: Will the location of the new elementary school be disclosed prior to the May 2 election? Is Groveland Township under consideration?
A:The location of the new elementary has not been determined; therefore, we will not be able to disclose the site prior to the May 2 vote. I anticipate a two to three month review of numerous sites before a decision is made. The bond extension would provide funds to purchase the land necessary for the new elementary school as well the purchase of additional land for future growth needs. There are a number of variables that must be determined prior to selecting a site. Those variables include, but are not limited to the following; needs to be 15 to 20 acres or larger; must be located adjacent to a hard surface road; the water table must be low enough to avoid any hydrostatic issues; must not be a wetlands area; without sewers the land must be perkable or must be able to facilitate a self-contained filtration system. The district will consider any piece of land that meets the requirements mentioned above and is within the district.
Q: Brandon High School and other facilities are in need of some major repairs. What guarantees are there regarding how long the new repairs will last? Could there be architectural issues with the current building that would prompt the same problems to reoccur?
The proposed renovation scope includes projects like mechanical upgrades, electrical improvements, fire safety system improvements, as well as a number of new construction areas for cafeteria spaces, classrooms and auxiliary gymnasium spaces. All of these renovations will add to the apparent newness of the facility. In many cases these systems and improvements should add many years to the life of the facility.
We feel that the scope of work defined would address most architectural issues and will result in good solutions and improvements to existing situations; for example, deteriorating steps in the courtyards will be redesigned and repaired to eliminate the poor construction detail associated with the original installation.
Q:The bond extension includes 1,600 new computers in addition to other technology improvements. Will these changes be outdated in just a few years? Is there a program to continually replace school technology?
A:Technology changes almost daily and in many cases, the minute you remove it from the box or package it is outdated. We believe we would be providing our staff and students a state of the art system that would meet the needs of the 21st century learner for the next five to ten years. The District would budget for replacement of equipment and software on a two to three year basis. This will not be an easy thing to do, but must be a priority if our district is going to provide our students every opportunity to use technology that will enable them to compete globally.
Q:Given the community is going to grow during the next five years, will the proposed changes to entrances and exits to and from M-15 be enough to account for more traffic?
A:The traffic issue on M-15 is larger than the school district and the township. Ron Lapp, Supervisor for Brandon Township, has been instrumental in helping the district address the traffic issue. I believe it will take a commitment from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to help eliminate or at least lessen the potential of an accident happening.
We believe that the proposed changes and the funds allocated in the bond extension for these projects would not only meet today’s traffic issues, but also those in the future. We anticipate that the changes in bus rider-ship (K-6 & 7-12) may reduce the number of parents driving their child to school, which would help a great deal.