Courtesy photo The Atlanta High School mural is pictured.

ATLANTA — Voters in Albert, Avery, Briley, Loud, Montmorency, and Vienna townships in Montmorency County will have the opportunity to vote on a new sinking fund millage for Atlanta Community Schools in the Aug. 4 election.

Atlanta Schools Superintendent Tawny Hisscock said that the millage will generate about $225,000 per year for 10 years.

It is a one-mill proposal, meaning that a property with a taxable value of $50,000 will owe $50 annually in taxes.

Legally, the millage can only be used for facility improvements. The funding cannot be used for things like salaries, benefits, or general operating expenses like utilities.

The sinking fund is a “pay as you go” plan designed to maintain school facilities, infrastructure, and upgrade safety features without incurring new debt, according to a slideshow about the millage.

Hisscock said that the high school section of the school was built in 1981, and the elementary section was built in 2001. The bus garage and storage garage were also built in 2001.

The aging facilities are in need of major infrastructure repairs and updates, Hisscock added.

“In the past several years we spent just over $264,000 in infrastructure needs,” she said.

Costs for those projects came out of the district’s general fund, Hisscock explained. The general fund typically does not leave much room for facility repairs as it is needed for the daily running of the district.

“The funding we get from the state does not cover the infrastructure needs of any district,” she said. “A district of our size, we just can’t maintain that.”

The $264,000 was spent on a new water well at the concession stand, a new main water well pump, a sewage pump for the elementary wing, an irrigation system for the baseball field, football stadium lighting, and the replacement of numerous valves in the HVAC system.

Projects that need to be completed include a roof replacement, exterior lighting upgrade, and bus lift replacement at the bus garage.

The storage garage is in need of a roof replacement, electricity installation, concrete floor, siding replacement, and door replacement.

The 25-year-old elementary building needs carpet and tile replacement in the classrooms, floor tile replacement in the cafeteria, gym floor refinish, carpet replacement in the library/computer lab, and more.

The 45-year-old high school building needs ceiling tiles replacement, kitchen wiring upgrade, replacement of the light fixtures in the gym with updated safety guards, and more.

Upgrades are also needed to the HVAC system, septic system, irrigation system, and electrical system.

Lockdown systems need to be installed in each of the classrooms, as well. Other upgrades are needed to the sports complex, technology, and funds will be used to replace buses on rotation.

The ballot language for the sinking fund millage proposal reads as follows:

“Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property in Atlanta Community School District, Montmorency County, Michigan, be increased by and the board of education be authorized to levy not to exceed 1 mill ($1.00 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a period of 10 years, 2026 to 2035, inclusive, to create a sinking fund for the construction or repair of school buildings; for school security improvements; for the acquisition or upgrading of technology; for the acquisition of student transportation vehicles; for the acquisition of parts, supplies, and equipment used for the maintenance of student transportation vehicles; for the acquisition of eligible trucks and vans used to carry parts, equipment, and personnel for or in the maintenance of school buildings; for the acquisition of parts, supplies, and equipment used to maintain such trucks and vans; and for all other purposes authorized by law; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2026 is approximately $225,000.”

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@thealpenanews.com.