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School bonds pass

News Photo by Julie Riddle A man casts his ballot in Rogers Township in this March 2020 photo.

ALPENA — Alpena Public Schools will be able to make the improvements and security additions at its schools that officials say they need after voters appeared to have easily approved the district’s bond proposal during Tuesday’s presidential primary election.

The measure passed 5,316 to 2,281, according to unofficial results, with two precincts — Ossineke and Wilson townships — not reporting by The News’ deadline for this story.

The $33.9 million in bonds will be paid off over 25 years through property taxes. Taxes are not expected to rise, because the district is about to pay off old bond debt and those taxes will fall off the rolls.

Officials estimate the new bonds will cost about 1.8 mills, or about $90 a year for the owner of a $100,000, though that tax rate can fluctuate based on the annual bond payments due and the taxable value of property in the district.

The handy victory on Tuesday was a stark turnaround from the overwhelming rejection of a $63 million bond proposal last year that was expected to increase taxes.

News Photo by Meakalia Previch-Liu Voters sign up for ballots as they prepare to vote Tuesday in Wilson Township.

CHECK OUT PRECINCT-BY-PRECINCT RESULTS BY CLICKING HERE.

Alpena Superintendent John VanWagoner said he is pleased that voters supported the local schools, which are in need of maintenance, repair, and improved security updates. He said the school system will try to get as much bang for its buck as possible, but also get quality work done.

VanWagoner said he is pleased the voters stepped up for the students.

“We are really thankful to the community for what they are doing for the kids, because our facilities are in dire shape,” VanWagoner said. “We are grossly underfunded by the state, but we are thankful the voters are allowing the board to put the things in place to keep our students safe, warm, and dry.”

VanWagoner said a great deal of time and effort was put into educating the public on what the proposal meant to them and their finances, as well as what the bonds will be used for. There were many town hall-type meetings and also numerous question-and-answer sessions that were held over many months. He said it was a team effort that is going to pay off for the students in Alpena County.

“We had an amazing group of parents, staff, and board members who worked really hard to reach out to people and have a conversation about what we need and what we needed to do better,” he said.

VanWagoner said there are three key points that were stressed to voters.

The first is that the school system knows that residents will be watching how the money is used. He said the board intends to get as much done with the money it will have, but also that the work and purchases need to be quality.

VanWagoner said the school is also developing a long-term maintenance plan, which he believes will help keep the facilities from falling into disrepair again.

“We don’t want to end up in the same situation again,” he said.

VanWagoner also wants voters to know that APS is going to do its best to get proper warranties and guarantee for the work that will be done, so the school is protected, should something not go as planned.

“Everything we do and every dollar we spend will be approved by the board,” he said. “We want to get as much bang for our buck as we can, but we’re also going to be responsible and make sure our investments are covered.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

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