Battle Creek Enquirer from Battle Creek, Michigan • Page 2

Pennfield goes to voters for 3rd time remodeling to support the technology. 1 ABOUT A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Would hold up to 625 students. 24 general education classrooms serv- ing grades 3-6. VOTING INFORMATION WHAT: Special Pennfield Schools bond referendum WHERE: Central Elementary School, I 8455 Drive N. WHEN: 7 a.m.

to 8 p.m. Tuesday 't ABOUT THE BOND ISSUE WHAT: A $10.9 million bond pro-b posal to pay for a new elementary building (grades 3-6) and technology for Pennfield middle- and high-school students. COST: 5.2 mills, decreasing to 2.46 mills over 25 years. It would raise the taxes I on a $70,000 home by $182 a year, de- creasing gradually over the term. PLANS FOR THE MONEY $9,113,440: New elementary school.

Central Elementary School would be I demolished, except for the gym and music room. $588,500: Technology equipment for the new elementary school (grades 3- 6), Dunlap Junior High School (grades 7-8), ond Pennfield High School (grades 9-1 2). $1,198,060: Cabling, wiring and Science and discovery dassroom. Computer classroom. Music classroom.

Speech classroom. Two special education classrooms. RemedialChapter 1 classrooms. Faculty planning room. Multipurpose roomgymnasium.

Cafeteria. Librarymedia center. Faculty planningteacher prep spaces. As a result of moving third- and sixth-graders to a new 3-6 elementary school: Purdy Elementary School (grades K-2) would gain three additional dassrooms. North Pennfield Elementary School (grades K-2) would gain two dassrooms.

Dunlap Junior High School (grades 7- 8) would gain five dassrooms. PENNFIELD SCHOOLS 199495: NUMBERS TO COMPARE (GF is General Fund) Category Pennfield State overage Harper B.CP.S. GF revenue per pupil $6,063 $5,902 $5,494 $7,200 GF spending per pupil $5,387 $5,474 $4,949 $6,461 Average salary per leather $43,368 $41,895 $41,286 $42,388 Pupil-teocher ratio 21 to 1 22to1 23-1 20-1 Source: Michigan Department of Education PENNFIELD SCHOOLS: WHERE THE MONEY GOES School Gen-fund Yr-yr Gen-fund Yr-yr Salary Yr-yr yeor revpapill mr spdpupil Incr pertchr Intr 90- 91 H26J $3,928 $34,825 91- 92 $4,405 3.21 $4,101 4.4 $36,495 4.8 92- 93 $4,605 4.54 $4,343 5.9 $38,966 6.77 93- 94 $5,157 11.99 $4,903 12.89 $41,044 5.33 94- 95 $6,063 17.57 $5,387 9.87 $43,368 5.66 Source: Michigan Department of Education WHAT RESIDENTS SAY VrrTYTT? Candace Anderson: "for what they're asking we can't afford. It's nice to (improve the schools, but not at my expense. Most everyone has computers at home so their kids can learn at Candace Anderson home.

I'm worried about the mismanagement of the larry Jacobs: "It stinks. Why can't they just enlarge (the school) or build on it? -Maybe (the schools) should teach the kids how to read and write first and then worry about a new building." Verna Larry Jacobs Liskow, 45, works at convenience store: "They need to look for further re-sources besides taxpayer money. What happened to the Lotto money paying for schools? I see how much is brought in. I have grandkids in school at Pennfield. It might need repairs, but they don't need computers.

I've employed young people. CVS' i jr. PENNFIELD, from they're working with a deteriorating building and an increasing population, and that the two just don't mix. District student population, now at 1,790, has grown by 50 in the past year and is expected to increase 200 in the next five years, said Willie P. Lockwood, co-chair of Pennfield Citizens Facility Improvement Committee.

To deal with that, administrators say: Three portable classrooms are in use outside the building. Many classrooms have reached their maximum student capacity. Storage and teachers' office space has been combined. Classrooms lack enough outlets for new technology. The school lacks a library and a cafeteria "No matter how creative and efficient we get, there will be limitations," Chase said.

Lockwood said an upgrade to correct problems and meet codes and laws would cost about $2.5 million. Since those costs would just repair the existing building, proponents are concerned that further down the road more repairs would be necessary. "It wouldn't be wise to spend taxpayers' money in that way," Grimes said, adding that the conditions are limiting students' education. Bond-issue opponents aren't convinced. Sandra Ballman-Burke admits Central needs repairs, but she doesn't think the school district needs a whole new building.

"I've spent time in that building. of my daughters have been through that building and they've liked it fine," she said. She also doesn't think the community should foot the bill for the new building or technology, that it should come from government funding. POULSEN REMORSE? Why did the school district sell Paulsen School six years ago if it needed more space, bond opponents And maybe they should check into buying it back. Bond supporters say the building was closed in 1983 and sold in 1991 after enrollment declined and studies showed that government-mandated asbestos removal would cost $100,000.

Grimes estimates it would be more expensive if done today. So was it a mistake to get rid of Poulsen? The asbestos-removal cost would have been high, but not as high as paying for a new building. Grimes said the school had to be closed because it was not economically feasible to run a school with a low population, and that it was sold because it was just sitting there. 'He said that for educators to have projected an increased enrollment back then would have been difficult Could it be bought back? The building was bought by a private resident for $15,000, and is still standing empty and vandalized. Grimes said he wouldn't want to buy it now.

"When a building stands empty, it deteriorates and there's mold and mildew." CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS? Did the school district violate state campaign-spending laws by having school officials and board member campaign for the issue and spend tax money to promote it? and pro-bond committee members insist that mailings were purely informational and didn't urge or suggest a "yes" vote. Opponents allege that taxpayer money, and not donations, backed an active information campaign, that materials were mailed on school stationery and that school officials campaigned, adding stature and legitimacy to the pro-bond effort They have asked the Michigan Secretary of State to determine if campaign-finance laws were violated. The complaint is being considered and a response is being sought from the school district Administrative Law Examiner Tito J. Mirasola said. He said campaign laws, amended last year, make it a felony for a public body to make a campaign contribution or expenditure, but "it allows expenditures for informational purposes, such as what a district will do with the money it gets from a bond issue." But did the school district promote the issue? four-page flier with the Pennfield Schools logo, labeled "Special Bond Issue Information," has a straightforward format answering questions such as: "What is a bond proposal? What does the bond issue include? How much will it cost me?" But some language borders on advocacy: "All community members would benefit from the improvements sought (and) if our children are to become quality producers in the must learn to be competent users of technology." Grimes said it is true the community would benefit from a new so therefore if fact A better building would result in better schools, and therefore a better community, he said.

made up the questions from the citizens' perspective. These are tie questions that people want to V. BONUS PACK OF GEORGIA-PACIFIC MICROPOINr ONE MULTIPURPOSE PAPER lb. paper Brightness of 87 Specially designed for trouble-free performance For use with copiers, laser and inkjet printers, fax machines and multi-function machines 993228SKU 846642 500 SHEETS. 993037SKU Staples Price 3.89.

In Memory of Larry Horwitz we will be closed Thursday, March 20th PUSS Toviords Purchase Of Microprint Inhjet Or Laser Reams! Details On All When they can't make change without relying on machines, they need to go back to the old way of teaching." Nelson Dull, retired: "Sure (the tax in Nelson Dull crease) bothers me because I'm on a fixed income, but I think the children need it. All the schools need help." Chris O'NeE- "I'm for it. The school needs (the im provements) be- cause they're overcrowded. The people that don't have kids probably think about their property value. For me, I look at it as an investment in my Chris O'Neill children's future." Rick Hileman, 28: "I don't mind paying the extra money.

I don't think anybody minds if it doesn't strap them, be- cause if they care for the kids they'll do if. I'd like to see it pass. I hope they get things straightened out by the time my son gets to school." St. 962-5594 Thursday March20, 1997 Vol. 98, No.

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49017-3093. (USPS 045400) The Battle CM Enquirer is pubSshed daily by Federated Publications owned subsidiary of Gannett Co. he I will the bond include and how much it will cost them?" he added. Some residents disagree, and think that that whether a new building is beneficial is purely opinion. THIRD-TIME THE CHARM? So what chances does the bond have this time? If a close call, again.

Random interviews with more than a dozen residents and registered voters found that nine out of 17 voters would vote in favor of the bond. Most of the yes voters wanted to see the community improved. Pennfield resident Rick Hileman, 28, wants the schools to be in top condition for his infant son. Hileman doesn't own property in Pennfield, but is planning to in the future. "I don't mind paying the extra money.

I don't think anybody minds if it doesn't strap them, because if they care for the kids they'll do it" Proponents of the bond hope this small sampling is consistent with the rest of the community. While some voiced concern with seniors voting against the bond because of fixed incomes or not having children in school, Grimes said the second bond campaign picked up a lot of senior voters. Not enough, however, to get it passed. "I think a lot of seniors support the bond and want to see the community improved," he said. Candace Anderson, ready to vote no for the third time, doesn't think such expensive improvements are needed.

"For what they're asking, we can't afford. If nice to (improve the schools), but not at my expense." Anderson said almost all the people she knows have computers at home, so they can expose their children to the technology there. She has a daughter who attends Pennfield and another who will soon be attending, and she thinks conditions there are just fine. "It hasn't killed my daughter to eat lunch at her desk," Anderson said. The school now deals with the population crunch and lack of space and can continue to do so in the same fashion without costing the district money, she said.

HISTORY, HOPES The first Pennfield buildingtechnology proposal, more than a year ago, was for $15.46 million and was voted down by a 2-1 margin. A down-scaled second proposal last September identical to the current one -was turned down 1,138 to 1,057. The 81-vote difference last fall keeps proponents and members of the Pennfield Facility Improvement Committee optimistic and has them convinced that more information will turn around those who cast no ballots. "We think a lot of people didn't have a lot of the information to make a sound decision," said Debby Alday, a Pennfield Board member and a member of the Pennfield Citizens Facility Improvement Committee. But was that why the last proposal failed? None of the September "no" voters contacted by the Enquirer said they needed more information.

Instead, most voiced knowledge of the districfs history and believed it could do better. Another problem in getting the bond passed, proponents said, was the low number of voters. To combat what the committee has seen as roadblocks, committee members have worked intensely to educate voters about the bond and supply information on voting. Separate from the campaign, Pennfield Schools has sent out almost 6,000 letters. "If an informational blitz," Grimes said.

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