News Photo by Julie Goldberg The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education on Monday discusses submitting an application to the Michigan Department of Treasury and asking voters to approve a $33.9 million bond to be repaid over the next 25 years through property taxes.

ALPENA — The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education took a step on Monday toward asking voters in March to approve a $33.9 million bond sale without raising taxes.

While the board has not voted to put a bond proposal on the ballot, trustees authorized Superintendent John VanWagoner to submit an application to the Michigan Department of Treasury regarding the bond sale. Money raised through the bond sale would be used for facilities repairs and improvements.

If the board does go to voters and voters OK the request, property taxes are not expected to increase.

Taxpayers are still paying off the district’s previous bond sale from 1996, putting 1.8 mills — about $90 a year for the owner of a $100,000 house — toward that debt this year.

If no new bond sale is approved, that tax is expected to drop to 0.67 mills next year. If voters approve the new bond sale, the district would keep charging 1.8 mills and use the difference to make payments on the new bonds.

“It’s an opportunity to honor what our folks have said about not raising taxes and keeping that mill rate,” VanWagoner said. “It’s quite a bit less and exactly what’s levied now.”

The remaining $4.4 million of the district’s current bond debt is scheduled to be paid off in 2021. After that, the full 1.8 mills would be used to pay the new bond debt.

Voters approve bond sales but do not approve a tax rate, which is set each year based on the bond payments due and the taxable values in the district.

If voters approve the new bonds, the millage rate is expected to go down over the 25-year term of the bonds, dropping to 1.78 mills in 2026 and 1.22 mills by 2046.

Voters rejected a $63 million bond proposal in May that would have been used to build a new Ella White Elementary School and make significant remodels and safety improvements to Alpena High School and other renovations at all APS school buildings. That proposal would have raised taxes by an estimated 1.9 mills this year.

VanWagoner said Monday the request being considered now is for basic items, such as roofs, boilers, and security at the schools.

“This is half of the number-one priority list,” VanWagoner said. “This is the only option that this board has.”

The application approved Monday allows the Michigan Treasury to go through the district’s scope of work and see if any numbers are wrong or if there are things that need to be corrected. That is a 30-day process.

The board has until Dec. 17, according to the Secretary of State, to submit a proposal for the March election.

“I don’t know what our other options are,” Trustee Stacey Parr said.

“We have no choice,” Trustee Ned Heath said.

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

In other business

The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education on Monday also:

∫ received its yearly audit, which found that the district ended the 2018-19 fiscal year with $40.6 million in revenues, $38.4 million in expenditures, and an ending general fund fund balance of $6.1 million.

∫ accepted the retirement of Hinks Elementary School Principal Sharon Miller, effective Dec. 31, and hired Jason Luther as a Building Trades/Mechatronics teacher at Alpena High School.