Sand Creek school district asks voters to approve bond for campus projects

SAND CREEK — Voters in the Sand Creek community will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7, to vote on a 25-year bond proposal for the Sand Creek Community Schools.

The proposal, which is detailed at the district's website, www.sc-aggies.us, underneath the dropdown menu labeled “Bond Information,” would generate $15.1 million to fund the proposed facility projects throughout the district.

If approved, the district would levy up to 5 mills for 25 years to repay the bonds, the ballot language says. The district expects to levy an average of 4.3 mills each year. Owners of property with a taxable value of $100,000 would pay $500 a year if the full 5 mills is levied or $430 if 4.3 mills is levied.

Proposed projects include safety of the traffic flow at Ruth McGregor Elementary School; the construction of a multipurpose building that would provide an elementary physical education area that is separate from the cafeteria; music and drama performance areas with appropriate stage, sound and lighting; additional athletic game and practice area; and a dedicated wrestling practice area.

Each of these items are considered needed to address the accessibility and advancement of student programs as well as to address the safety of students, bond informational flyers provided by the district said.

All Sand Creek voters will vote in person from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Fairfield Township Fire Station, 9965 Brown St., Weston.

The proposal, ballot language and all elements of the school’s bond proposal came together through the formation of a district facility committee, which had been meeting for at least one year, Superintendent Sharon Smith said, to discuss the needs of the district.

The committee, made up of representatives from district staff, community members and parents, started the discussion of what the needs of the district are through a community survey that was sent out in the fall of 2022.

“The safety of our students, as well as the accessibility and advancement of student programs, have been at the forefront of this discussion,” bond informational flyers said.

Throughout the summer and fall, Sand Creek schools has conducted bond informational meetings that have been open to the public inside the Jr./Sr. High School’s Don Harlan Library.

School bonds are a way for school districts to get the funds needed for capital projects. Bonds work like home loans or corporate bonds. The school district gets up-front cash from investors and agrees to pay the investors back over a fixed period. A bond allows the district to complete the improvements in the span of a few years but pay over a longer period of time.

The district has been working with Dailey Engineering (engineer and architect) and Kreighoff-Lenawee Co. (construction manager) to develop the plans and the cost estimates for the proposed project.

Among the identified projects, perhaps the most important is the reconfiguration of the elementary school’s drop-off/pick-up traffic flow, Smith told The Daily Telegram.

“We have a lot of car traffic, and we would like to do what we can to separate the bus traffic from the car traffic. That’s a No. 1 need,” she said.

As has been the practice for some time, when district buses head out to pick up elementary students, this causes a traffic holdup for several minutes along Sand Creek Highway. The buses exit their parking area from the junior/senior high school to travel toward Ruth McGregor Elementary.

During this process, Smith said, at least five to seven staff members work the traffic flow route when the buses leave the junior/senior high school to pick up the elementary students. The staff members are responsible for directing traffic and stopping vehicles in the road to allow the buses to head over to the elementary school. A similar system occurs in the morning during student drop-off to begin the school day.

The safety of the drop-off and pick-up traffic at the elementary school has been a concern of the district for some time, Smith said.

“Reconfiguring the design of the traffic flow will make the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up safer for students, staff and parents,” she said.

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The proposed multipurpose and performing arts building would be attached to the elementary school. The facility also could be rented out by community members when not in use, the district said.

The second floor of the front portion of the new multipurpose addition would serve as the wrestling practice mezzanine used by school and youth wrestling programs. Stairs and an elevator would provide access to the mezzanine.

The estimated cost of the bond issue also includes the addition of air conditioning in the district’s two buildings.

If the bond request is approved by voters on Tuesday, work would begin in the summer of 2024.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Sand Creek schools asks voters to approve bond for campus projects