Last Sunday, the Lapeer County Press did a story on the LCS Zero-Tax-Increase School Improvement Bond with a focus on what passage of the proposal would mean for the security of our schools.

Read the full article, here.

In short, critical safety and security needs in our schools can be addressed with funds from this bond (and without raising taxes):

Every district building will see significant safety and security upgrades should the bond be approved in August, said Field. Many buildings, like Lynch, Turrill, and Murphy Elementary schools, will see improvements focused on door locks, barricades, and a new public address (PA) system, while Schickler Elementary School would see even more investment in remodeling certain areas to be more conducive to safety standards.

One aspect of those upgrades, said Field, is the PA system slated for inclusion in every building throughout the district. While buildings have some form of a PA system present today, the bond would allow for an overhaul of those systems that would better align with the recent ALICE training underwent by students and staff at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

Lapeer County Press, July 3, 2022

The bond proposal also includes items that might not be considered security upgrades in the strict sense but, in reality, probably should be. A great example of this would be our open classrooms at Schickler Elementary. We have earmarked funds to renovate those spaces into traditional, closed classrooms.

Because more than 75 percent of the District’s general fund goes to personnel costs annually, major projects like those addressed in this school improvement bond proposal cannot be completed without an infusion of funding. We have begun the process of raising the standard of safety and security in our schools, but much more needs to be done.

The current debt of the district is set to expire in 2037. If the proposed bond passes on November 8, the debt would be retired in 2045.

The most recent passage of a school improvement bond in the District was in 2007, which was also a zero-tax-increase proposal. That bond funded the renovations of the Rolland-Warner 6-7 Campus and the Zemmer 8-9 Campus, our two nicest buildings to this day.

If you have any questions on this project or any other project related to the Zero-Tax-Increase School Improvement Bond, contact me at Jared.Field@LapeerSchools.org.