Question 4 for School Board Candidates: What About The Facilities Needs?

In August of 2010, Saline Area Schools district voters turned down a $28 million bond extension that would have paid for new roofs, heating and cooling, technology, school buses and more. In February, voters turned down a $22 million proposal by an even wider margin.

Eight months later, most of those needs identified in a 2009 facilities study remain unsatisfied. At the same time, facing the budget crunch that saw the district draw its fund balance below five percent of expenditures, the district has never had less money on hand to pay for repairs.

"You talk about things that keep me up at night, that is one of them," said Saline Area Schools Superintendent Scot Graden. "We had an issue with our phone system the other day and it was concerning as we struggled to get that back on line. If something catastrophic were to happen at a building, we don't have the funds to tap into."

The message from voters means the district is looking internally for ways to pay for critical projects. The district may be forced to look at the same general fund that hasn't been able to support the exisiting operational structure of the district. Trying to find extra money in the budget for roof repairs at the same time as teachers are being laid off and class sizes have ballooned is not going to be easy. At the same time, taking no action to address those issues also drains the general fund, Graden said.

"As a result of not taking action, unfortunately our costs of operating our schools are rising. We're not able to make capital investments to lower our energy costs right now," said Graden. "We have to start trimming expenditures to the point where we can start to take care of those things. We have to be finite in terms of priorities. From our standpoint we've started to look bare-bones at some of the things we have to do n the next 12-18 months."

Graden said some of those priorities include the phone system, the heating system at Liberty school, and roofing at Heritage, Woodland Meadows and Pleasant Ridge elementary schools.

Here is today's question:

In February, residents rejected the $22 million bond extension. The needs remain. If elected, what will you do to help the district address those needs?

David Zimmer

I have a track record of actively developing and strongly supporting revenue generating solutions that make sense for the district going back close to 9 years. These solutions have generated millions of dollars in revenue for the district over this time period.  Each of these efforts were well thought out and focused on the practical and necessary needs of the district.

The bond effort that was originally defeated in August of 2010 was ill designed and did not meet the needs of the community. It was not significantly modified and the voters rejected it by an even larger margin in February of 2011.

When I asked questions about the bond proposal at public forums last February, Administration agreed that numerous items requested could have been funded through the CARES Fund and the District Sinking Fund that was approved by the voters in 2009. The remaining items were routine maintenance items that fit within responsibility of the district and we have adequate funding for these items once we restore financial stability.

David Friese

The bond extension was reject by about 18 percent of district voters both in August and February. The supporters of the extension (myself included) were overwhelmed in February by the regional opposition that surfaced in our community. It's relatively easy to oppose something while offering no solutions. We did not do a good job in getting people to the polls, consequently the network of yes voters needs to be expanded. Those crucial repairs still exist and if not addressed will cause further damage to our physical plant. As a community we must come together and support what has been collectively created.

David Holden

The February bond proposal was rejected by a solid majority for multiple reasons:

1. A similar bond proposal was rejected in August 2010. Many felt it was inappropriate to call for a vote in the middle of winter when it was defeated six months prior.
2. The financials were not sound. Borrowing long term money for short term expenses is exactly why our country is in the financial condition it is today.
3. Alternative revenue sources could have been used for many of the projected expense items. The CARES millage, reserve fund, grants, and donations could have been utilized.
4. There is a lack of confidence in the District to manage money prudently.

The best way to handle those needs is to make sure they are not masked wants. Secondly, we need to rebuild our reserve fund so long term expenses can be paid for from this fund. Lastly, we need to have a provisioning account within the operating budget to fund short term expenses.

Patti Tanner

We need to prioritize capital and facilities improvements, conduct a needs assessment and again realize nothing is off the table; there will be cuts made in every department and at every level to get the job done.