The Lamphere Schools district is once again running a bond issue, this time at a lower amount focused only on high-priority items.
By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published September 16, 2025
MADISON HEIGHTS — In May, voters in the Lamphere Schools district rejected an $85 million bond proposal for building enhancements. Now, the district is back with a new proposal that will be on the ballot for the general election Nov. 4.
The new proposal is just over half the cost and focuses solely on items that school officials describe as “essential needs.” If approved, the new proposal would increase the school tax rate by 2.5 mills for 30 years to raise $47.4 million.
The school district collects $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value, multiplied by the millage rate. As such, a home with a taxable value of $100,000 would see its taxes increase by $250 under the proposal.
The school district would use the funds for building projects, including the replacement of outdated boilers and ventilation units for improved heating and cooling; security enhancements including updated fire alarms and improved secure entry points; and repairing and replacing aging, leaking roofs.
Other projects include updating outdated cabling and network systems for improved classroom instruction and communication, and site improvements such as concrete and asphalt repair, reconfigured parking lots and more efficient stormwater systems.
Dale Steen, the superintendent of the Lamphere Schools, described how the district arrived at the current proposal.
“Our community shaped the project list for the November bond proposal. We combined input from residents and staff, and re-examined facility assessments completed by industry professionals to address critical facility needs,” Steen said via email.
“The community’s recommendation was clear: focus on student safety, critical maintenance and the infrastructure that supports day-to-day learning. This bond proposal reflects the community’s request,” he said.
The superintendent noted that the original facility assessments identified more than $100 million in total facility needs and updates — hence the $85 million price tag of the May proposal. But with voters rejecting that proposal, the district has opted to take a phased approach that focuses only on high-priority items.
Items that were cut from the previous proposal include an auxiliary gym, a 3D art studio, a robotics learning lab, theater improvements, new playground equipment, and synthetic turf for the baseball and softball infields.
“The last time voters approved a bond proposal for building improvements for the Lamphere Schools was almost 30 years ago,” Steen said. “Since then, we have relied on responsible budgeting and our sinking fund to maintain buildings as best as we could.”
Mitchell Szpanelewski, a resident in the school district, said he doesn’t trust the district after it spent an estimated $35,000 to run the previous bond issue in a special election. He remains skeptical of the need and feels it’s unfair to taxpayers already at their limit in the current economy.
“In (the Lamphere Schools district), we pay a higher portion of our property tax to the schools than nearly everything else combined. Plus, new homebuyers are hit harder, especially with property values being at all-time highs,” Szpanelewski said, referring to how the taxes paid are determined by when their property is assessed. “I just don’t understand what they are doing with all this money.”
Steen said the need is justified.
“We have reached a point where the scope of work identified in the facilities assessment exceeds the amount that the sinking fund can cover,” Steen said. “To address these critical improvements, a bond proposal is necessary.”