Published: April 15, 2008 12:00 am      

Schools to ask voters for bond approval

ELK RAPIDS -- A handful of northern Michigan school districts will ask voters to approve bond issues next month.

An Elk Rapids proposal would continue its 2.39-mill levy for two years, before dropping it to roughly 1.62 mills in its last two years, when an existing bond is repaid, business manager Jeff Scroggins said.

It would bring in as much as $1.625 million.

Leland, Charlevoix and Kalkaska also will be on the ballot May 6.

Most of the revenue generated through Elk Rapids' bond -- at $788,000, it's almost half -- would improve technology.

"We just have aging equipment that's increasingly failing," Scroggins said.

A quarter would help replace some of the district's energy systems, such as upgrading to fluorescent lighting and adding computerized sensors to its buildings.

The move would bring an expected $51,000 in annual savings and perhaps increase the district's energy efficiency, he said.

Bond income also would allow for an upgrade to its telephone and busing systems.

Leland voters will be asked to support a 0.25-mill bond increase to an existing 0.3-mill sinking fund approved last year and a 2001 levy.

Sinking fund dollars can't be used for technology or busing expenses. The district seeks upgrades in both areas, as well as to classroom equipment.

With small increases in state school aid, bond campaigns like these give districts extra money for capital improvements, keeping their general funds available for classroom needs, Leland Superintendent Mike Hartigan said.

"We haven't done a lot of cutting and trimming," Hartigan said. "We're seeking to take the big-ticket items out of this bond."

Charlevoix's proposal aims to convert an existing sinking fund, approved in 1998 and renewed in 2003, into a bond that would levy 0.55 mills for seven years. If successful, that would net the district about $5.9 million.

The money would be used for significant improvements to its school buildings, particularly the elementary and middle schools, as well as to bring high-tech equipment into every classroom and phase out aging buses, Superintendent Chet Janik said.

And Kalkaska's campaign solely is for technology upgrades, Superintendent Lee Sandy said. The continuation of its 1.75-mill rate would bring in roughly $750,000 in five years.

The district has many additional needs, Sandy said, but focusing now on technology would keep the levy from rising.

"Every day, we're losing more computers," he said. "We've done all the upgrading we can do to make them work."