Key School Issues Heating Up

With the pending purchase of the building and important decisions regarding the potential bond issuance of up to $24 million set to collide this month, those involved are expressing concern over a possible public misperception on how the two issues relate.

"The Hayes Lemmerz building and the bond issue happening at the same time is a coincidence, and it's unfortunate," bond subcommittee member Kevin Deegan-Krause said Thursday during a lengthy meeting at .

The subcommittee, charged with making recommendations to the Ferndale Board of Education on how a potential $24 million bond would be spent, discussed how to grapple with public perception that the funds might be used to renovate Hayes Lemmerz instead.

Hayes Lemmerz is currently included as an alternative project on a long list of bond action items for the general improvement of Ferndale's school infrastructure, but that list will not be finalized until recommendations are submitted Aug. 15.

A 90-day due diligence period for the purchase of Hayes Lemmerz is set to expire at the end of August, nudging the district closer to shelling out close to $1 million for the crumbling building and setting it up as a prime recipient for improvement funds.

But Superintendent Gary Meier recommended to the subcommittee on Thursday that the building be removed from consideration for bond funds altogether in order to keep the issues "separate" and to educate the public on how the district intends for the Hayes Lemmerz project to pay for itself.

In describing the financial details behind the deal, Meier said the district does not need bond funds for Hayes Lemmerz.

Should the deal go through, the district plans to finance about $8.5 million for the purchase and renovation of the building, to be paid back over 10 years. At the same time, the district would get rid of about $325,000 in yearly lease payments by moving adult education programs and Ferndale Career Center services to Hayes Lemmerz.

The district also plans to bring in $525,000 extra a year with its ability to accommodate at least 75 new adult education students.

"We would essentially break even and offset the full cost of Hayes Lemmerz with 75 more students and the reduction of lease payments," Meier said.

The real concern, Meier said, is the failure to convince residents over the years that the adult education programs in the district are a source of revenue for building core K-12 programs.

"There hasn't been enough buy-in for the adult education programs, let alone the acceptance of a buy-in for bond money going to buildings (such as Hayes Lemmerz) that K-12 kids wouldn't use," Meier said. "This is an electorate issue, so what can be done to cultivate public opinion?"

The bond subcommittee is deciding whether the school should pursue a bond, what it should encompass and when it should go to the voters. The bond could be put to a vote as early as February during the 2012 Republican presidential primary.

Subcommittee co-chair Mary Schusterbauer cautioned that the panel's purpose is not to mount a political campaign for or against the potential bond, but to make sound decisions about where money would go for badly needed improvements and to figure out what residents would actually be willing to pay for.

"This conversation must be tempered with what is actually sellable to the community," Schusterbauer said.