News Photo by Julie Goldberg Alpena Public Schools Superintendent John VanWagoner and Ella White Elementary School Principal Melissa LaCombe show one of the boilers at Ella White on Tuesday. The boilers in the school are from the 1970s.

ALPENA — When schools sell bonds, there are specific rules that have to be followed about where money can and can’t go.

Alpena Public Schools is asking voters on May 7 for permission to sell $63 million in bonds for major facilities upgrades. Those bonds would be repaid through increased property taxes –an estimated 1.9-mill increase in the first year, or $95 for the owner of a $100,000 house –over the next 25 years.

If voters approve the bond sale, the money would be used for specific projects that are named in the ballot proposal language, district leaders said.

Some items the bond money can’t be used for are salaries, service contracts, base payments, installments, or supplies.

It also can’t be used for operating expenses, purchasing automobiles, portable classrooms purchased for temporary use, uniforms, textbooks, upgrades to existing computer software, or computer training/consulting or computer maintenance contracts.

APS Superintendent John VanWagoner said it’s important for voters to know where the bond money can and can’t go. He said the bond will go to building and safety improvements that was listed on the school’s application to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

“It will all stay in Alpena and will not going towards any salaries or benefits or anything like that,” VanWagoner said.

VanWagoner said voters want to know how the bond money will be spent by the district.

“It’s important to know that what we’re saying what it’s going towards is the only thing that the state will allow us to put it towards, and those are just the building repairs, security, and things listed on the application,” VanWagoner said.

VanWagoner said the district’s December application to the Michigan Treasury outlined everything district officials want to accomplish and the approximate costs of those projects.

“You cannot veer from doing those things,” VanWagoner said. “They are very narrow and specific on what you can use the funds for and what you budgeted and what you proved as a need to the state.”

OTHER FACILITIES

The district has upgrades planned at its six elementary schools, Thunder Bay Junior High School, and Alpena High School if the bond proposal passes, but not for Sunset Elementary School on Hobbs Drive, the district’s transportation center on M-32, or the district’s central office on Gordon Road.

When the district started looking into the bond proposal, there were no students at Sunset, so it wasn’t included, VanWagoner said.

The district has since started a local homeschool partnership at Sunset, and now 115 homeschool students use the school that sat vacant for eight years. Next year, there will be more homeschool students and four preschool classes, so the building will be at or near its full capacity of 208 students, VanWagoner said.

At the district’s central office, VanWagoner said staff can live as adults with a leaky roof or windows that aren’t the best.

“I wanted to make sure, and the board wanted to make sure, that the money was going where it was needed for teachers and students learning in classrooms, and that was the purpose of it,” he said.

Potential buyers have expressed interest in the district’s transportation center on M-32, and the district has considered a new bus garage, VanWagoner said. The superintendent said officials haven’t been able to negotiate a deal, but are open to it.

“You’re not going to put any money in a transportation building that maybe there’s a chance you’re not in five years from now,” VanWagoner said. “That’s just the deal, it’s putting the money where kids are in at school.”

ALPENA HIGH SCHOOL

The largest part of the bond proposal is Alpena High School, which needs an estimated $27 million, according to VanWagoner. Every student in the district, if they stay in Alpena, would be able to experience the changes that the district has planned for that school.

The proposed high school renovations include moving the school’s main office from the back of the school to the front, updating the roof, repaving parking lots, along with other projects.

The high school’s weight room, which is seven feet tall and in the school’s basement, would be moved to the front of the high school. The boys and girls locker rooms, which are also in the school’s basement, would be moved above ground and become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The wall of glass windows at the front of the high school would also be removed. VanWagoner said his biggest fear is somebody pulling up to the school while students are walking in the hallway by the glass and shooting the school.

The new design would remove the glass and replace it with concrete block, with some small windows up top to bring in some natural light. It would be energy-efficient for the school to remove all the glass.

The commons area for the auditorium would be expanded at the front of the school.

“A key part of that is eliminating so much of that front window facade that 50 years ago, when it was built — a California courtyard design — nobody thought of the terrible security measures that take place now,” VanWagoner said.

The school, which is over 50 years old, needs so much in renovations because safety and security will be upgraded, the boilers will be updated, instructional elements will be improved, and the asbestos will be removed.

“That’s a big focus,” VanWagoner said.

Wilson Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization President Stephanie LaCross said that, when considering the renovations that are needed at Alpena High, she thinks the price tag of $27 million seems right and it would make the building last a long time.

“Every elementary student will eventually be going through that high school, so I can see and understand it,” LaCross said.

ADVICE FROM ATLANTA

In August 2016, Atlanta Community Schools voters approved a measure allowing that district to sell almost $6 million in bonds that are expected to take 15 years to pay off through a property tax increase.

VanWagoner said he has talked to Carl Seiter, superintendent of both Atlanta and Hillman Community Schools, about Atlanta’s bond and the construction phase of the project.

“Carl’s definitely been a source for some good information on ways that they plan things and again, kudos to the people in Atlanta that passed bonds and realized how important it is for the communities and the overall long-term success,” VanWagoner said. “We’re hoping that people take the information that we have and really take a deep look at it and make an informed decision.”

Seiter said Alpena has more facilities than Atlanta, so there is more that needs to stay up-to-date. He would tell parents or any taxpayers in Alpena to support the school system to ensure area kids have the best facilities and learning environment available.

Seiter said that, when talking about sections of roofs that could be over $100,000 or a boiler system that could be almost $500,000, there’s no way to make that replacement without taking things from students unless they are funded by taxpayers.

“The only way that a school system can fund facilities is through bond issues or sinking funds or basically going back to the taxpayers and asking for money,” Seiter said. “That’s the reality of what we have to deal with.”

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.