Please post a link to the detailed proposal. $114 Million seems shy of building a middle school, adding Fiber Optic data lines to all school buildings, and buying thousands of tables or laptops. Also please document the terms of the proposed bond. What is the Bond Rating for PCCS, What is the coupon for this bond, what is the term of this bond? Given the current saturation of the Bond Market this could cost the district more than expected. Also what is the useful expected life of a Tablet or Laptop do these devices qualify as capital? How many times over the life of the bond do these devices need to be replaced? What plan does the district have to ensure tables and laptops are properly cared for. Does this plan include phasing out of textbooks and does it include license costs for electronic licensing of textbook material?

The idea is textbooks soon will be completely digital with these devices - the current textbook budget is about $1 million.

I am updating the story with a link to the district's FAQ regarding the bond.

Putting your whole "wish list" on one bond proposal is risky. You'll get all or nothing! I have seen other school districts try this, and they got nothing. It would be better to offer separate bond proposals for 1) building the new middle school, 2) installing fiberoptic networking throughout the district and purchasing tablet devices or laptop computers for each K-12 student, phasing out the use of textbooks, 3) making building improvements, and 4) replacing the district's outdated fleet of buses.

Ruth, the district did a facilities assessment and identified their 5 year needs and 10 year needs. It was important to them that the bond not be an increase in mills, so they paired down their list and could not even include all the 5 year items. This is not a wish list, the items in the bond are imminent needs. Without the bond the district will have to use general funds to replace some of our buses that exceeded their useful life to ensure safe and reliable transportation for our students; to upgrade their technology infrastructure to meet the state requirements for online MEAP testing; to make the facilities upgrades to ensure the safety and security of all the buildings; and something will have to be done regarding upgrading Central (the last estimate was $27m). The fund reserve of the district is not sufficient to cover all of these costs. Without the bond, the only other option is to use general fund money, which means reduced resources in the classrooms. Our district has traditionally run very lean, and has relied on bond money to fund major capital investments. They have also proven to be very fiscally responsible with the bond money they have received in the past. It is because of their fiscal responsibility that we have the opportunity to make all the proposed bond enhancements and keep our school taxes at the current rate.

Thank You All for the Links to the district website, this answers some of my questions but raises more concerns. My biggest objection is the 1:1 Technology miss-conception.
1. The Bond would pay off short lifetime items early, but it does not address replacing these items. So, it looks like we can look forward to another bond issue when the millage is set to go down again.
2. Using a laptop or a tablet does not teach you technology. My senior had her required Computer Class last year. It taught her to type. I was hoping for her to learn MS Excel or Access, but no she learned and was tested on typing speed.
3. Many teachers are making better use of their internet resources. Moodle seems to be becoming wider used and with better information.

I can support the other technology initiatives, the High Speed Data Link, Greater Storage, WLAN open to students, and replacing old computers are all reasonable improvements. I would however like these items placed in a bond with a life similar to them.

The augments put forth by the board on the new middle school make some sense. Although they only whine about Central because it is old, is a little disconcerting. Yes the construction industry is still in a slump, so now would be good, but the Bond Market is rather saturated. What is PCCS's Bond Rating? This will greatly affect the rate available.

Sorry I missed the meetings on this, also why can't this Bond wait until the November election?

I found some additional information that would be interesting to taxpayers.
A currently issued PCCS Bond CUSIP 729429LV0 has a coupon of 3% and a yield of 2.872%. Additional information available at:

http://emma.msrb.org/SecurityView/SecurityDetails.aspx?cusip=729429LV0

This Bond is Rated AA2 As of this morning a 20 year Municipal Bonds yield 4.841% and are on their way up. The 10 year Treasury note is at 2.03%

Why I have concerns, The Bond Market is saturated. Why do I say this? Because the Federal Government is continuing to deficit spend and the Fed is buying debt by issuing money. This drives inflation, most investors are hedging their portfolios by investing in the stock market, one reason we have day after day records. The Fed has announced that they will not raise rates until inflation crosses 2%.

Given the Tax Benefits of municipal bonds it only makes sense to gamble with your after tax savings. Most people don’t have significant after tax reserves to invest. Most bonds have a minimum investment of $5000 (face value). In this market even a small fish like me can make better investments that this, so the coupon on a new bond will have to be higher than the PCCS board is estimating in their presentation.

I am concerned about the location of the proposed middle school

A charter high school will be built right next to the proposed middle school site.

As a resident of Plymouth with two children in the PCCS schools, I am strongly in support of this bond. In a few short years my children will graduate out of this district, but I see and value the long-term benefit of maintaining high standards and high performing schools.

Our Plymouth & Canton communities are desirable and growing. The PCCS school system is very good and continues to perform despite less and less support from Lansing. Our strong schools are a draw to people who seek to move to communities with good schools, infrastructure and community amenities. This bond will provide prudent investment to deal with imminent needs to keep our district competitive.

I thank the volunteers, administrators and teachers for their hard work they put in to educate our kids, and for those whose proactivity put forth this bond initiative. I encourage my neighbors who value living in Plymouth and Canton to vote YES on May 7th.