After the Lansing school bond failed May 1, Lansing officials are now trying to decide how and when to have another school bond proposal.

The $338.5 million proposal, based on an eight-year construction schedule, would have been used to renovate 39 Lansing schools. The money also would have been used to rebuild Pattengill Middle School, 1017 Jerome St. in Lansing.

The bond failed, with 56 percent of the about 20,000 voters voting against it, while 44 percent voted for it, said David Wiener, executive assistant to Lansing Mayor David Hollister.

“It seems like it was too much money for a lot of people over too long of a period of time,” he said. “Just the concept of such a large bond was difficult to grasp and meant an increase in property taxes.”

Wiener said the average homeowner would have had a $215 to $350 increase each year in property taxes.

Mark Mayes, spokesman for the Lansing School District, said everything the bond asked for was needed for the schools.

He said the bond would have replaced mechanical and electrical systems that were 50 years old or older, bringing the school up to date in the current fire codes and making the schools accessible for people with disabilities.

“The improvement we wanted to make will go untouched for a little while,” he said. “We will continue to maintain facilities that are out of date and our students will have to continue to learn with out-of-date technology.”

But Wiener said the bond could be introduced again in a year after officials discuss it and make changes.

“Even opponents of the bond said they could support details of it, but not the whole thing,” he said. “We might reduce the size of the bond, or break it into smaller parts.”

John Pollard, a Lansing resident and leader of Citizens Against this Bond, said he felt he never knew what his money was going to go toward.

“If we are going to (pass a bond like this) we have to do it right,” he said. “The people of Lansing are going to be paying for it, and we didn’t know what we’re going to get.”

Pollard said the city is not ready to try to pass another bond, but instead needs to regain the trust of the residents who voted against it.

Antonio Maniaci, a long-term substitute teacher for Rich Middle School, 2600 Hampden Drive in Lansing, said he voted no on the bond because the proposal didn’t project the number of children attending school in the future who would use the facilities.

Maniaci said he would vote for a bond in the future if there was a student population projection and if the amount of money was lessened.

“I think they hoped when they put it out in May teachers would be all for it, but most teachers I talked to voted against,” he said.

Lansing resident William Banks said he voted yes because the bond would benefit Lansing, the future economy and prepare students for the technological advances in the workforce.

But he said the amount of money needed will need to decrease for the community to support it.

“The number may have scared some people, including senior citizens,” he said.

State News staff writer Shaun Byron contributed to this report.