Survey: Do voters want a new high school?

BLISSFIELD, Mich. - In an effort to gauge community support for construction of a new high school, Blissfield Community Schools is conducting both a random telephone poll and inviting voters to take an online survey, according to the (Adrian) Daily Telegram. Results will be presented to the school board this month, the Telegram reported.

The online survey is available at the district Web site until Jan. 9,  open to registered voters only, according to the Telegram.

"Before we make any decisions on what to ask for, we'd like to know what people want - what they're thinking," Superintendent Scott Moellenberndt told the Telegram. The 50-year-old high school is deteriorating, but Moellenberndt has said it still could be used as a community center and the site of various public offices if a new high school is built, the Telegram reported.

The survey asks if residents would support new construction as well as increased property taxes to pay for the facility, according to the Telegram. The estimated cost is 3.33 mills for 30 years, or about $333 per year for the owner of a home with a taxable value of $100,000, the Telegram reported. Another option is to renovate the existing school at 2.28 mills over 30 years.

SOURCE:
The Daily Telegram, "Input on high school sought," Dec. 11, 2008

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Michigan's prevailing wage law forces schools to waste money," Dec. 13, 2001