Unofficial election results see many West Michigan school bond proposals pass wwmt.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wwmt.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
My Take: Letter promoted misinformation, stereotypes
Sarah Le Febre
I didn’t sleep well last night. My stomach was turning and I just couldn’t seem to turn off my brain. This has happened to me before, but I am not usually able to pinpoint exactly why. Last night was different. I knew full well that my discontent and sadness was caused by Randy Kiekintveld’s letter published in The Sentinel encouraging the community to vote “no” on the HPS Millage. I will sleep better tonight if I respond.
Randy, I wish you knew Dan Telgenhof, AP government teacher at Holland High School. Dan is a Holland Public Schools graduate, University of Michigan alum and now one of the finest government teachers around. I wish you would have taken his class. If you had, you would know how government funding for public schools works. You would know that millage dollars can not be spent on teacher salaries.
My Take: Yes to HPS millage will help build strong school district
Rebekah Schipper
I would like to propose three reasons why voting in support of this proposal is important.
Number one, your taxes will actually go down. You can check it out for yourself on the HPS’s Build 2021 webpage, where you can use the property tax calculator to figure out just how much your taxes will decrease. This bond follows a consistent pattern of financial responsibility by the district over the past 10 years.
After shrinking student populations in the early 2000s which have now stabilized the district was forced to “right size” in very painful ways, but the district decided to face the pain in hopes for a long-term solution. The result is Holland Public Schools has been able to weather the financial storms of the past 20 years and provide quality instruction across the district.
Letter: Vote no on Holland Public Schools millage
By Randy Kiekintveld
In May 2010, the Holland Public School district voters bought into the idea that Holland Public Schools needed $73.4 million for renovations, so the millage passed.
The original projection of $140 million made it sound like a bargain, it was not. Union prevailing wage labor was used, which typically makes construction costs run one-third to half as much when using non-union construction labor.
Union prevailing wage labor is no longer mandated to construct public buildings (schools, libraries, etc.), which allows for millions of dollars in tax savings for the public.
Now the school board is seeking the outrageous amount of $75 million for middle and elementary building renovations. How much of that will be used for union labor? With declining enrollments and proficiency ratings, why would anyone want to give more money for buildings? And don’t forget that the taxpayers have another nine years to pay on the
HOLLAND As part of the district’s ongoing superintendent search, Holland’s school board asked the community for input on qualities and traits they think are important in the next leader.
The board reviewed results of the community survey Tuesday, April 27, with search consultant Bob Herrera of the Michigan Association of School Boards.
Holland’s survey received 253 responses, similar to the number Zeeland had with its recent MASB survey.
Board members expressed some concern about the demographics of respondents not reflecting the demographics of the student body with about nine percent identifying as Hispanic or Latino and eight percent with a household income level of under $50,000, compared to 20 percent over $200,000.