Chippewa Valley Schools' Bond Rejected

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI — An $89.9 million Chippewa Valley School District bond proposal that would have upgraded facilities and provided new technology for students was recently rejected by voters in Clinton and Macomb township voters. Macomb County Commissioner Leon Drolet led the charge against the proposal, which he said would perpetuate fiscal irresponsibility by the district.

“People resent the extent of the debt the district is going into, and they don’t think it’s fair. … I suggest they focus on budgeting and reorganizing themselves fiscally, paying down debt instead of adding debt,” Drolet told the Fraser-Clinton Township Chronicle. “520 other districts find ways to provide these services to their students, without this massive debt Chippewa does. I would look at what those other 520 districts do, and learn from it.”

Voters rejected the proposal with 58.6 percent saying “no.” A majority of funds would have been used for student safety and facility upgrades, including security camera updates, door locks, roofs, parking lots, flooring and mechanical equipment, the Chronicle reported.

The proposal would have raised property from 8.64 mills to 9.16 mills. A home with a market value of $200,000 would have paid about $50 more per year in taxes. Drolet, a Macomb Township Republican, who is also chair of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, told the Chronicle that taxpayers have had to tighten their belts in recent years and he thinks the district should, too.

“Since the Great Recession, personal incomes are still 8 percent lower than when it hit,” he said. “So, there’s been recovery, but not where people were eight years ago. … Citizens have said it’s time for them to look how (districts are) budgeting.”

Chippewa Valley Schools Superintendent Ron Roberts was disappointed with the outcome of the vote. “We looked at the bond package and kept it to basics: upkeep and technology,” he told the newspaper. “To me the disappointing part is the loss of technology for our students. We had really worked on our curriculum and were going to introduce new courses.”

Photo courtesy of Chippewa Valley School District