HB 8.12.2021 FINAL 2

Page 4 — Thursday, August 12, 2021 — The Hastings Banner

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Did you see?

Hastings schools owe

response to ‘no’ voters

Education is one of the most important

news beats we cover – and every reporter

we have is responsible for at least one

public school district: Hastings, Delton

Kellogg, Maple Valley, Lakewood,

Thornapple Kellogg and Caledonia.

We have good reasons for placing a high

priority on coverage of public schools.

Obviously, they are essential in preparing

children for successful futures, addressing

high needs and shining a light on

achievements.

Ultimately, schools are a bellwether of

the community’s health and well-being.

They also play other important, but less

obvious, roles. Schools employ people.

They create infrastructure – which adds

value – where students can pursue

academics, athletics and the arts in a safe,

well-constructed environment that helps to

encourage excellence.

They’re a source of community pride,

too.

Given the fact that a large number of

children attend public schools, a high level

of community trust is placed on the school

staff who are responsible for the safety of

those students – from the superintendent on

down.

And an expectation of accountability

goes right along with that trust. After all,

schools care for the community’s most

precious resource.

Were those considerations in the minds

of “no” voters last week when they rejected

a bond request from Hastings Area School

System?

Or were they sending a message to the

school board when they cast their ballots

against the request for 0.8 mills, which

would have replaced 0.9 that’s expiring

from a total levy of 6.9 mills?

So the vote was 1,693 against to 1,

for $21.9 million to cover the cost of much-

needed upgrades and repairs in the school

buildings. Hastings school officials need to

delve into the reasons why their request

was denied.

Oddly enough, no one we spoke with

who opposed the bond request has told us

these repairs and upgrades aren’t needed.

But they were thumbs-down on the request.

Some said they didn’t want to pay more

taxes; some were critical of the district’s

money management.

Now Hastings schools’ current rate, 6.

mills, is dropping to 6. That’s low, compared

to other nearby districts.

Hastings’ new Superintendent Matt

Goebel said they made a conscious effort to

keep that tax rate low, pointing to the fact

that, even if voters had approved the

request, the total levy would have dropped

from to 6.8 mills. Other school districts,

such as Thornapple Kellogg and Pennfield,

have rates that exceed 10 mills.

Anyone who has anything to do with

operating a district knows that it costs a lot

of money to run schools – and a lot of their

funds come from the state.

Last month, the state Legislature

approved the public school budget for

2021-22. At more than $17.1 billion, it

represents the largest-ever investment in

K-12 public schools in Michigan history.

A key feature in that package was the

elimination of the per-pupil gap in the basic

foundation allowance, which has existed

since Proposal A was enacted in 1994. This

will bring all districts to the same foundation

allowance of $8,700 per pupil (an increase

of between $171 and $589 per pupil).

Those of us who remember the system in

Michigan that used to finance public

schools, pre-Proposal A, recall its heavy

reliance on property taxes. Now that was a

hot mess. Talk about taxes. It brings back

memories of scores of unhappy property

owners, who were tired of being taxed to

pay for schools.

No wonder Proposal A, designed to

lower property taxes, was enacted with

approval by 61 percent of the votes cast in

1994. It also was the reason for higher sales
      taxes, higher use and cigarette taxes and a

real estate transfer tax, which offset the

reduction in property taxes, in Michigan.

Annual growth in local taxable value is

capped at the rate of inflation – or 5

percent.

In addition, Proposal A raised the lower

per-pupil districts to a basic level of funding

and tied funding to a per-pupil concept

rather than basing funding on property

taxes in any given district.

The problem with this funding model is

the fact that it’s tied to a number of

students. So, if the number of students in a

district declines, the amount of funds that

district receives declines as well.

Guess what’s happening at most school

districts now? The number of students

attending public schools in Michigan has

steadily declined, according to Ben

DeGrow, director of education policy at the

Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Ultimately, we may need to figure out a

new system for financing schools in

Michigan that isn’t so reliant on student

population.

In the meantime, though, we need to

support those districts, like Hastings, that

are struggling to foot the bill for the

facilities it must provide – school buildings

with bathrooms that work and roofs that

don’t leak.

As it stands, funds from the state are

intended for the operational costs of

running a school; so the burden falls on

local taxpayers to provide for capital needs,

DeGrow said.

That’s why Hastings took its bond

request to the voters, earmarking those

funds for roof repairs and building

upgrades.

That’s the way the system is supposed to

work.

DeGrow said local school boards are

legally authorized to take out debt through

resolution bonds. “The way it works is that

districts sell bonds and then levy a tax on

local property to pay off the principal and

interest owed on the bonds over time.

“There are limits on how much districts

may borrow without asking voters: A

district’s combined debt cannot exceed 5

percent of the total ‘state equalized value’

of property located within the district. SEV

typically refers to half the assessed market

value of a home or business.”

DeGrow noted that, to raise taxes to pay

for construction debt, a school district must

receive majority approval from local voters.

“State law mandates the information and

type of language that school districts must

use when asking voters to approve of their

borrowing and taxing. More than 85 percent

of Michigan school districts actively charge

taxpayers to pay down various outstanding

debts, according to an April 2016 report.”

All of this should be reassuring from the

standpoint that Hastings schools are

operating within the parameters set by the

state. So why are voters consistently nixing

this simple, straightforward, needed

request?

At first glance, it appears school officials

and the citizens’ committee did a poor job

of educating the voters. The vote was split,

virtually 50-50 yes vs. no. What school

officials should be looking for is a healthy

percentage in favor, not a close call. Close

calls, either way, are indicative of

disenchantment among a significant portion

of the voters. Red flags should immediately

go up.

School officials need to take a close look

at this election outcome. They should

convene the community, talk to voters,

analyze their criticisms, then chart a course

that directly addresses the issues raised and

come up with a plan that a healthy majority

of voters in the district will support.

In recent months, we’ve seen some great

leadership on the part of several school

officials in the districts we cover.

We need to see that kind of leadership

here.

Rebecca Pierce,

Editor

Kiwanis supports baseball players

Banner Aug. 6, 1959

The Hastings Kiwanis club, along with

the Youth Council, provides 163 boys with

supervised baseball. This is just a portion of

the kids who played in the Pee Wee and Cub

leagues. Bob Stanley (bottom right) and

Coach Lew Lang (bottom left) Wednesday

presented the league champion with

individual trophies. On the left are Tom

Reynolds and Paul Lubieniecki, who

co-captained the Yankees, winners of the

Cub league title, and (right) are Ken Cole

and Rex Wieland, co-captions of the Redlegs,

who won the Pee Wee crown. Playground

staffmen who umpired the games included

(top row, from left) Dave Storrs, Mike

Youngs and Scott Cleveland, and (top,

second from right) Don Baty and Tom

Laberteaux. In addition, 30 boys played

junior high baseball, plus the Elks’ Babe

Ruth league entry for boys 13 to 16, and the

Kiwanis Connie Mack team, which plays its

first game in the state tournament at Marshall

Thursday. (Photo by Barth)

A new person is attending local township

meetings, Rachel Frantz. She’s 31 years old,

she hands out business cards, and she wants

to talk recycling.

Frantz is a conservation technician with

the Barry Conservation District. She

officially started her job in April but, since

mid-June, has served as the recycling

coordinator.

That has meant getting into the community,

learning about recycling practices, providing

suggestions, conversing with citizens and

attending every township meeting she can

find. “And there are a lot of meetings,” she

said, laughing.

Before this year, Frantz never foresaw a

career in recycling. Raised in Caledonia,

Frantz studied biology at Western Michigan

University because of an interest in gray

wolves. At one point, she even considered

the possibility of building a wolf preserve.

After Frantz graduated from college, her

focus shifted. She got a job with the Grand

Valley Metropolitan Council, which she

called the “U.N. of West Michigan.” She

worked at the council for nearly five years,

focusing on native plants and shoreline

restoration before a role with the Barry

Conservation District opened up.

She performed similar duties as a part of

the conservation district until it secured a

12-month, $18,000 recycling contract in

conjunction with the Barry County Solid

Waste Oversight Committee.

Outside of her mother recycling a lot

when she was a child, Frantz didn’t have

much recycling knowledge. But she did

have experience with outreach, social media

and communicating information to the

public. The conservation district saw her as

the right fit for recycling coordinator.

Now, she’s learning on the job about the

intricacies of recycling and waste

management.

“There’s so many good resources out

there already that I don’t want to recreate the

wheel,” she said. “I just want to push these

other resources. Kent County, for example,

has excellent resources.”

In her first months on the job, Frantz has

already noticed the difference in recycling

accessibility between the city of Hastings

and its surrounding rural areas. In the city,

she said, she’ll see recycling bins lining the

streets. But in the townships, many residents

have to drive miles just to drop off their

recyclable materials.

“I know recycling is not available

everywhere, curbside,” she said. “For me,

personally, the idea of loading all my

recycling into my car to drop it off – it’s just

not going to happen.”

For the duration of the recycling contract,

Frantz has a straightforward goal.

“I would just love to see the recycling

surpass the trash,” she said. “Because it

bums me out when I see people who’ve got

their trash bin out, and there’s an extra two

bags of trash next to it because they’ve got

so much trash. And I think to myself, ‘You

know, a good 40 percent of that could

probably be recycled.’”

Technically, Frantz works part-time. But,

with the addition of the recycling position,

she said it feels like “two part-time jobs.”

Still, she called her job fun.

“I mean, most biologists, we do it for the

fieldwork,” she said. “We want to go outside.

So, any chance I get to go planting or even

meet people is a plus for me.”

She’s still working on meeting people.

Frantz, along with her husband, two kids

and white husky, moved from Middleville to

Hastings in February. She has spent her first

few months in town enjoying meals at

Walldorff Brewpub & Bistro and afternoons

at Charlton Park. They live in the city of

Hastings with a garden of vegetables,

blueberry trees and apple trees.

She said she loves living in Hastings.

“It’s just got everything you need,” she

said, “and I haven’t even been to the movie

theater yet.”

For her work promoting recycling in

Barry County, Rachel Frantz is this week’s

Banner Bright Light.

Favorite dinner: Ribeye steak.

Favorite movie: “The Lost Boys”

Favorite season: Summer because of

flowers. The different flowers bloom at

different times.

When I was a kid: I wanted to be a

veterinarian. ... I just loved all the animals. I

love animals.

If I won the lottery: I would pay off all

of my family’s debt and I would start some

sort of women’s shelter for single moms

with a daycare.

Favorite cartoon character: Batman.

Favorite Batman movie: Oh, “Batman

and Robin.” Or “Batman Forever.” I have a

hard time. Not the new “Dark Knight,” I

don’t like that one. Batman’s voice, really, I

don’t know. ... I just don’t like the way he’s

so grumbly, I guess. The “Dark Knight 1 and

2,” the animated ones, though – those are

really good.

Hobbies: Landscaping, ballet and I guess

art in general – I can’t pick a specific art.

Painting. I just started doing stained glass.

I’m not very good, but that’s been interesting

to get into.

Each week, The Banner profiles a person

who makes the community shine. Do you

know someone who should be featured

because of volunteer work, fun-loving

personality, for the stories he or she has to

tell or any other reason? Send information

to Newsroom, Hastings Banner, 1351 N.

M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or

email [email protected].

Rachel Frantz

A round of

applause for

the B. Bus

The B. Bus Mobile Library will con-

clude its summer rounds this week. The

mobile library program, which is free to

all, is aimed at engaging youth and fam-

ilies in reading, activities and fun from

June 14 to Aug. 13. Stops Friday will

include Little Lions Daycare at 9 a.m.,

Vermontville Pavilion at 10, the Assembly

of God in Nashville at 11:30, and

Thornapple Kellogg Middle School at

1:30 p.m. The brightly colored bus,

operated by the YMCA of Barry County

in collaboration with area school dis-

tricts, is shown here during its stop at

Delton Kellogg Elementary School last

Thursday. (Photo by Rebecca Pierce)