Gwinn Area Community Schools looks to the future after bond proposal fails
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GWINN -- Gwinn Area Community Schools has now failed five consecutive attempts to pass a 1.89 mils bond proposal past area voters, this time by only 14 votes.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning after election results came in, Superintendent Dr. Sara Croney said that "As a district, we recognize that the facility, infrastructure and educational needs identified in the bond proposal remain."
Those needs include a new roof, as the Middle/High School's current roof is well past its maximum life span, and routinely leaks into classrooms. The district was also hoping to move fourth and fifth grades to the Middle/High School in order to close one of their two elementary schools, saving money long-term.
Other items on the bond proposal were improving the security of school entrances and creating more available slots for the high school's popular welding courses.
While it's unclear exactly why the proposal did not pass, voices responding to Croney's statement on social media cite cost as the major factor. Gwinn had previously attempted to pass a higher bond, and the lower amount on Tuesday's ballot was a reflection of the school district's attempt to balance district needs with keeping down costs.
Keeping up with aging facilities is a problem across Michigan, because Michigan is one of the only states in the nation which doesn't have a dedicated statewide fund for school facility improvement. That means that expensive school improvements like new HVAC systems or new roofs are typically too expensive for schools to handle on their own, necessitating bonds and millage increases. And schools' sinking funds are specifically for repairing that infrastructure, not replacing it.
"Our community was sort of spoiled because the mines and K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base built all these schools, all four of them," said Croney in a Monday interview with The Mining Journal. "So (taxpayers) never had to foot the bill. That's where it's an uphill battle for them to realize, no, there isn't someone who's gonna come in and save us. It's on us.
"That is different about Gwinn than other districts. Other districts are used to it. This has always been the way for them. That becomes the challenge."
Gwinn's Tier 2 Citizen's Committee will be meeting on Wednesday to brainstorm next steps, which will be recommended to the full school board. The next Gwinn school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the Gwinn Middle/High School library. At that meeting, the school board will decide whether to try the millage again in a May election.
"One thing that frustrates me is this was our fifth time (attempting to pass a millage)," said Croney. "And I get that we ended up losing by 14 votes. But do people think we're kidding? That we're making it up that our roof has well outlasted its lifespan?"
Just on Thursday, two days after Gwinn voters declined the millage, a middle school basketball game at Gwinn had to be moved to Negaunee due to leaking in Gwinn's gym roof.
"The kids deserve warm, safe and dry," said Croney. "They deserve to have a working school that does not have a leaking gym, and we as voters need to come together. We need to come together for the kids."
There have been rumors online that Gwinn schools could close if future millages don't pass, but Croney said those claims are unfounded.
"We are the fourth-largest district in all of Marquette (County)," said Croney. "We have over 860 kids. There are a lot of districts much smaller than us that aren't closing. We're not closing ... I'm not going to threaten (to close the school). We're not going to threaten. We're just going to communicate the needs to the best of our ability, and we were within 14 votes of getting that done."
While Croney said that Gwinn schools are in no danger of shutting down, she also said that the state of Michigan will not intervene in a school that is not passing millages.
"I don't know if (voters) realize how their taxes are directly tied to good schools," said Croney. "People make decisions of where ... they want to live based on many factors, one of them being good schools. No one wants to pay the bills. I get it. I completely get it. But it comes down to responsibility."
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.