On May 5, the registered voters of the Niles Community Schools will be asked to vote on two millage issues. I urge you to vote “yes! Yes!” — that is, yes to both proposals.

The board broke the bond into the following two proposals:

Proposal One is an estimated 2.89 mill increase equating to $29,770,000. This proposal would be considered the “bare necessities” and has safety and security, energy efficiency, and technology and building and site upgrades. Our buildings are 50-77 years old and we need these upgrades to protect fiscal resources for the classroom, not expensive repairs to outdated equipment. For the average taxpayer, the cost of Proposal One is less than $12/month. The downside if only Proposal One passes is that you won’t see much improvement. It will be behind the walls, in boiler rooms, etc.

Proposal Two is an estimated 1.0 mill increase and would raise about $10,300,000. This enhances the above, but also allows us to re-create our learning environments. Hopefully, you have had an opportunity visit New Tech. With the passage of Proposal Two, we would have the resources to improve the learning atmosphere in all classrooms, for all students, in every school. For the average taxpayer, this would be less than $4/month.

In 1991, we passed a bond to add an auxiliary gym at the high school. This was during the time of Title IX and the proliferation of girls’ sports. This was a great decision by the NCS community.

In 1980, we passed a $1.3 million bond for some smaller specific purposes. Therefore, it has been well over 35 years since the NCS community has supported a renewal of ALL of our schools. Most districts around us have voted in debt. We are currently debt free.

With a “yes! Yes!” vote, we will still have a debt lower than Buchanan and Brandywine and very similar to Edwardsburg and St. Joseph, all for about $15/month for the average taxpayer.

Also, if you are a senior citizen over the age of 65 and receive any tax credits, the costs shown will be even lower.

Please support our students on May 5 by voting Yes! Yes! for both local proposals.

 

Dr. Michael Lindley is the superintendent of Niles Community Schools. He can be reached by phone at (269) 683-0732 or by email at michael.lindley@nilesschools.org.