LCS upcoming bond information ... Bond Application and Presentation

 

LCS Upcoming Bond Information -- Bond Application and Presentation

Lapeer county is facing numerous requests for millages, bonds, and must make hard choices with limited resources. Below are links to the Bond Application that LCS was required by law to submit to the state. Also, is a recent presentation from LCS Superintendent Matt Wandrie with his perspective on what this bond will mean and how it will affect our kids here in Lapeer Schools.

While there are many aspects to the upcoming bond proposal, Below is a link to the bond application that Lapeer Schools submitted to the state. This states where and how all the money will be spent with very little room for change.

2022 LCA Bond Application

Lapeer Schools Superintendent Matt Wandrie presents information and answers questions at a recent forum in Lapeer on LCS proposed millage slated for the August 2nd Election. 

Please make sure you do your own research and see how this bond proposal will affect you and make up your own mind.

A lesson for Lapeer Schools??

Davison Passes Bond 2020/ Yes✓4,904 51%.....No 4,543  48%

   With all the complaining by some including some in the LCS administration and Board about last Novembers Lapeer Schools bond defeat, it is worth noting that Davison Schools did pass their bond yeasterday, be it not by a large margin. Most importantly its worth nothing that Davison Schools bond fixed and improved EXISTING buildings. Davison also had drawings and details of what their bond money would build so that folks could see what they would be paying for. They chose NOT to build brand new buildings while they still have solid buildings to work with. We in Lapeer passed the 07' Bond on exactly that premise. and got state of the art buildings for our kids in Zemmer and Roland Warner. Perhaps the incoming new administration and this falls new Board of Education members should think about this and make their next attempt for a bond that reflects these same principles. Also, 45% of our voters are seniors. What ever proposal you make MUST make sense to at least some of them as well or it will NEVER pass, Ask for what is needed and will be able to be passed, and you just might get a better result...

Now that voters have spoken handed LCS a very clear decision, will the Administration and Board listen and work with voters or double down their efforts continue to put forward proposals that will never pass?

 

  Well, the voters have spoken. Meanwhile, we hear comments from Board members and Administration officials like:

 “But you can’t make people come to the table and there are some people that aren’t interested in being informed.”, 

"Also… you know as well as I do there’s a big problem out there right now — with misinformation and with suspension of disbelief.”

“I do,” I said. “I think it’s all very reflective of our current times. There’s a lot of willful ignorance. A choice to disregard fact.”

   The fact is that this proposal was voted down by 59% of the voting public. 

While some may feel that the voting public were just misinformed or "willfully ignorant" the fact is that most voters knew exactly what this bond was about...and that was building a high school we did not want or need. 

  In reality, of the bond proposals since 2004, four have been overwhelmingly defeated. The single plan that passed in May of 07' was the one that renovated EXISTING buildings. That was the $56 million bond that renovated Zemmer, Woodside/Roland Warner. In that election, voters overwhelmingly SUPPORTED the proposal. So were the voters in 07' miraculously informed? Were they being less "willfully ignorant"? In 07', perhaps the voters must not have chosen to "disregard fact"? No. The voters then, as would be the case now, would support reasonable proposals that make financial sense. L.C.S. proposed a plan in 07' that called for fixing and renovating buildings we already had. At that time, the District proposal was asking  for what they needed, not what they wanted, and it worked. It previously took several elections for Lapeer Schools to wake up and actually listen to the majority of the voters. Will Lapeer Schools engage with the community to get the help and support of those who opposed this bond the next time around, or will they proceed as they have in the past by ignoring the majority of the voting public and putting forth another proposal that will not pass muster with the voters at large?

  Only time will tell. We should hope that L.C.S. will try to engage those individuals who had issues with this bond. Otherwise, it could be a long time until the needs of L.C.S. elementary students are addressed. That would be incredibly disappointing.

The Good News about growth and enrollment that you haven't heard from LCS

   While there is no doubt that the Great Recession decimated much of the U.S. Economy, and specifically here in Lapeer County, things have gotten and continue to get better and better. While the birth rate has continued to decline in recent years, new births are NOT the only reason districts grow.
  Below is a chart provided by the Lapeer Construction Code Authority of new home starts from 2013, to early August of 2019. In 2013, the CCA shows 38 new homes were built. This is the low point in the last 6 years. The last complete year of 2018 we had 106 new homes built. That is nearly a 300% increase since 2013 and we are on track to have an even  better year this year with 75 new homes being built and nearly 5 months to go.
  While this growth is county wide and not just LCS territory, it does show strong growth and many new homes being built in our county and district.
   But the good new doesn't stop there.
  In the March 31st Lapeer County Press, the story "Developer plans to expand mobile home park", we learned that the Pine Lakes mobile home community plans on adding 135 homes to it roster.
  In the June 16th addition of the County Press, we learned the city of "Lapeer to get $12M apartment complex" This will add 147 homes the LCS school district. 
  When you add up the fact that LCS enrollment was in fact UP 29 students last year, NOT down (http://bit.ly/31plnPf), along with all the development going on throughout Lapeer County including the LCS school district, spending $94.9 million on a plan built on reductions, and building unnecessary buildings makes NO sense. Perhaps someone should pass these good news stories on to our LCS Board and Administration...

Lapeer Construction Code Au...  on Scribd

Bond Application for November 5th 2019 vote.

Lapeer Community Schools Bond Spending

This is the Bond Application that Lapeer Community Schools submitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury. This was supplied from LCS via FOIA request. As of 6-27, approval by the State Treasury was pending, but expected. The state has 30 days to approve it. This is the detailed plan for how the LCS bond money MUST be spent. Once approved, this bond money can ONLY be spent for this project as stated on the bond application.

Lapeer 2019 Bond App 6-26-19 by on Scribd

Options that the L.C.S. Board of Education had to choose from for the November 2019 Bond Proposal...

  In early March, the Lapeer Board of Education voted to put a $94.9 million bond proposal before the voters in November of 2019. Although we do not have a total breakdown of the spending on all items and buildings, we do have the options that the L.C.S. Board of Education had to choose from in coming up with their proposal. The following document is exactly what was given to our Board of Education members when deciding which options to include in the bond. This will give you a very accurate picture of just how much various items and options in the bond would cost. The final bond application that L.C.S. submits to the Michigan Treasury will have the final numbers which the district must adhere to. It is as of yet unavailable.

  This information was obtained in response to a F.O.I.A. request sent to Lapeer Community Schools.

LCS Itemized Bond for Discu... by on Scribd

Current and Future Interest Owed on 2007 L.C.S. Bond

    The document that follows shows what we currently owe in principle and interest, as well as what the amounts for both will be going forward until the debt is retired in 2037.

2007 Bond Millage History 2 by bdcarpets on Scribd