Roseville Community Schools bond passes

ROSEVILLE — It was a slim margin, but it was enough.

On May 5, the Roseville Community Schools $175 million zero-tax-rate-increase bond passed at the polls.

According to the unofficial results from the Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Office, 2,064 voters voted “yes” on the bond while 1,873 voters said “no” to it. 

The bond will provide tax dollars from the residents to update buildings, consolidate facilities, expand early childhood education and improve the learning environments at each grade level. According to district officials, a main component of the bond proposal is to “rightsize” the district so the school buildings better align with current and future enrollment.

RCS school buildings are currently operating at 46% utilization, which means less than half of the facility is being used by students and staff. According to school officials, the state of Michigan recommends school facilities operate at 85%.

The underutilization of the schools is primarily due to decreasing enrollment, which is a statewide issue. The district’s current enrollment is 4,244 students.

“Our enrollment has dropped significantly over the last 20 years, even the last 10 years,” RCS Superintendent Mark Blaszkowski said in April. “It’s time that we rightsize in an effort to be more efficient, to maintain student programs and to reduce operational costs.”

School of choice also is a factor for educators, but school officials said that even though they may lose students to other districts, the ratio usually evens out because they also enroll students from outside Roseville.

Via Facebook, school officials thanked community members for their support. 

“On behalf of the Board of Education, we thank the voters of Roseville Community Schools. Approval of the bond proposal will improve student safety and security, enhance the K-12 educational program, address aging infrastructures, reduce operating costs, increase building efficiency, and protect the community’s investment in its schools,” the post states. “In the coming months, we will keep the community informed as we move forward with the bond proposal projects. Again, we are grateful to the parents, students, and other members of the community who helped us inform people about the bond proposal. Thank you for continuing to support Roseville Community Schools.”

Now that the bond has passed, Dort, Kaiser and Patton elementary schools and Eastland Middle School will be closed and demolished. A new elementary school will be constructed on the Eastland site and Fountain Elementary School will be made into a centralized early childhood center. Eastland Middle School and Roseville Middle School will be consolidated. 

Bond dollars will be used to update infrastructure; upgrade safety, security and communication systems; improve learning environments and classroom technology; and upgrade athletic, performance and play environments.

According to district officials, the bond will not increase tax rates. The last bond issue passed in 2018 for $58.9 million with a tax levy at 11.2 mills. The 2026 $175-million bond will continue the rate residents are already paying as the existing debt from the 2018 bond is paid off. 

As an example, residents who own a home that has a $100,000 taxable value will pay approximately $1,120 under the 11.2 mills rate per year. Homeowners in a house with a $50,000 taxable value will pay about $560 per year. The taxable value is the value on which property taxes are calculated. It is not the market value of the home.

The $175 million zero-tax-rate-increase bond is for 30 years. It will be broken up in different series to save on interest costs.

Partners in Architecture PLC, based in Mount Clemens, will be the architect. The construction manager will be Barton Malow, based in Southfield.

The renovations and new construction projects are planned from 2026 through 2032 and will touch every school building in the district.