Thursday, May 7, 2009

Muskegon voters give the OK to bond proposal.

From the May 6, 2009 edition of the Muskegon Chronicle

In Muskegon, where voters approved a $12.5 million bond proposal, Superintendent Colin Armstrong said success came in keeping the millage request very low -- 0.2 mill, which kept the tax rate lower than it was last year.
"I think many people got it that we were trying to walk between the two issues of needs of students and the economic situation of the community," he said.

The extra tax levy, in place until 2023, will pay for 800 new student computers, teacher "smart carts," building maintenance such as boilers and roofs, buses, renovated science labs and improvements to Hackley Stadium that do not include artificial turf. It also will pay for such basic improvements as new white boards in classrooms.

The proposal easily passed 1,664 to 715.

"It's pretty clear the community supports the education system and their kids," Armstrong said.