Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bond proposals would improve E.L. schools

East Lansing School District bond proposals totaling more than $66 million will be voted upon today at 14 locations across the city.

If the proposals are passed, the money will be used to renovate and remodel the high school and build a new pool.

In December 1999, a similar bond was proposed but was voted down. This year the bonds are seriously needed, said East Lansing Superintendent Thomas Giblin.

“In order to compete with other schools academically we need improvements immediately,” Giblin said.

If the bond proposals pass, it may affect the rent that off-campus students pay. For example, a house valued at $100,000 will have to pay an extra $155 annually. This means that landlords may have to increase rent slightly.

The positive effects outweigh the negative, though, said Giblin.

“Children are only 10 percent of our population, but 100 percent of our future,” he said.

The first proposal has a price tag of $47.2 million, which will add computers, chemistry labs and other renovations for the high school. The second is $13.8 million, which will renovate MacDonald Middle School and the third is a $4.9 million high school pool.

The polls open at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. Voters who are eligible are those residents who live within the East Lansing School District limits, and are registered to vote in East Lansing.

AMANDA CLAPP

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