By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — The Taylor School District is considering a possible $130 million bond proposal for the November general election, which would result in district wide upgrades to all school buildings.
Mechanical and electrical improvements in facilities; new furniture at all buildings in the district to allow flexible and collaborative learning spaces; and upgrading technology to enhance educational and security needs in all buildings.
A bond steering committee made up of 22 community members, board of education trustees, parents and staff is developing a bond program recommendation at the end of its analysis process for board’s consideration.
A community presentation video provides a bond overview which explains the proposed millage increase from the current 0.96 mills school district residents are currently paying for in property taxes.
The new millage rate would be a 2.71-mill increase for a 3.67-mill school tax. According to the video, Taylor is the city with the lowest bond rating among all 33 school districts in Wayne County.
TMP Architecture Senior Vice President Eduardo Blanc and TMP Architecture Chief Marketing Officer Gail Allevato led the presentation video proving bond proposal information.
“With the average home market value in the district at $96,300 we looked at a home value of $100,000,” Allevato said in the video. “The increase for a $100,000 home is $135.50 per year or $11.29 a month or actually less than 40 cents a day. This small investment can make such a major impact on the lives of our students.”
The architecture firm partnered with the district to take district through an exploratory phase. Supt. Griff Mills said the average age of all the buildings in district is approximately 60 years old.
The district enrollment is 5,580 students which is projected to decrease to 4,883 by 2025-26 school year. The district has 12 school buildings, one administration building and one career center.
Allevato said the motivation of the bond study was because of three areas, average age of buildings; no significant upgrades have occurred to schools since 1969; and many changes in the way teaching and learning is done today.
Over the years, the district has had bonds that have passed and failed, including in 1969 with a passed bond of $17 million; then failed bonds of $25 million in 1976, $89.5 million in 1995, $200 million over two bonds in 2003; another failed bond of $70.5 million in 2004 and a five-year improvements bond of $5.9 million in 2016.
Blanc said the TMP team worked with the Taylor Schools Facilities and Operations Department to put together a facility assessment which evaluated the infrastructure conditions of the buildings.
They visited all facilities and assessed each site on the interior and exterior, rating each with a number system in addition to meeting with all principals in the district to talk about program deficiencies and identify several needs.
Some of those needs include athletic field improvements, safety upgrades, flooring and window replacement, parking lot upgrades, media center updates and STEM lab upgrade.
“The bond steering committee was presented with many options for meeting the identified needs in the district,” Blanc said. “One option includes brand new elementary schools, a brand new middle school and a brand new high school totaling $330 million. The committee recognized that this was too much to ask for our community at this time.
“Administrative leaders and board members recommended that we take a step back and test the bond steering committee’s direction with a focus group of long standing community members who really know the history of elections and the district.”
Suggestions included the direction to focus on where the district is losing students, which is at the middle school and high school levels and also enhancing athletic faces and fields at the middle and high school levels.
“The group was all in agreement that the district should address facility needs and improvement and that our students could really benefit from the upgrades,” Blanc said in the video. “Their final suggestion was to scale the program back to something that would be more financially responsible.”
In the $130 bond proposal, is the design and construction of a new high school and career center built together on the existing John F. Kennedy High School site. This includes driveways, parking lots, and reconfiguration of the athletic fields.
The demolition of the existing Kennedy building and relocation of the board of education offices to the annex building are also planned in the proposal. Middle school students would move into the current Taylor High School which will receive upgrades.
A new 220,000-square-foot high school would cost $66 million while a new 50,000-square-foot career center would cost $15 million.
Other price tags are: $20 million for site work and athletic fields; $2 million for demolition and moving the board of education annex; $2 million for the demolition of Kennedy High School; $9 million to move the middle school to the current high school; $10 million for new fixtures, furniture and equipment at buildings; $3 million for potential demolition of existing buildings; and $3 million for technology and safety.
The school district asked district residents to fill out a bond survey after watching the informational video.
“I believe that before there is reality, there is mentally,” Mills said. “My hope is that you will help us create a mentally that is a community member of Taylor, you believe that with your support you can make a difference of a lifetime for our students — that reality is invaluable.”
To watch the bond proposal community presentation video go to https://youtu.be/GCAdb59k_-Y.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])