Dearest reader,
Seven requests in three days.
Apparently, Swartz Creek has been leaving quite a few breadcrumbs. So I pulled out the spectacles, opened the ledger, and started following them.
And this particular trail goes back nearly twenty years.
In May 2007, Swartz Creek voters were asked to approve $10.595 million for an auditorium addition.
They said NO.
2,501 YES.
4,271 NO.
That alone isn't particularly unusual. School bond proposals pass. School bond proposals fail.
But then the timeline gets interesting.
In May 2010, voters approved a 20-year renewal of the district's 1.8059-mill Building and Site Sinking Fund.
The actual ballot language permitted the money to be used for construction or repair of school buildings "and all other purposes authorized by law."
That's important context, and I'm not going to leave it out.
But the district's informational materials presented to the public emphasized something much more familiar: maintaining and improving district facilities.
Roofs.
Boilers.
Flooring.
Security.
Playgrounds.
Parking.
Classrooms.
Then came October 2010.
According to Swartz Creek's own later bond FAQ, a federal Qualified School Construction Bond opportunity became available, and the district had "shovel-ready" plans for a Performing Arts Center.
By March 2011, the district had issued $13.6 MILLION in Qualified School Construction Bonds.
Then, in June 2011, the district purchased Cage Fieldhouse for $2.5 million.
And here's where the receipts become particularly important.
Swartz Creek's own later materials acknowledge that sinking-fund revenue supported construction of the Performing Arts Center AND the purchase of Cage Fieldhouse.
District audits also document transfers from the sinking fund into the Debt Retirement Fund to help make principal and interest payments.
Now, there is another piece of context that deserves to be included.
The district says the federal QSCB opportunity did not become available until October 2010, AFTER voters approved the sinking-fund renewal.
Fair enough.
But the idea of an auditorium certainly wasn't new. Voters had already rejected one in 2007.
And by October 2010, the district says its Performing Arts Center plans were "shovel-ready."
So I went looking for the missing receipt:
When were those plans developed?
And, more importantly, when were taxpayers first told that their renewed sinking-fund revenue would ultimately support the Performing Arts Center and Cage Fieldhouse?
I haven't found a public record that answers that question.
And longtime readers know my rule.
When the receipts stop, I don't invent the answer.
I ASK THE QUESTION.
Perhaps there is a perfectly reasonable explanation sitting in an old board packet, newspaper clipping or dusty file somewhere.
If there is, I'd genuinely like to see it.
Because this page isn't about proving somebody else's conclusion.
It's about establishing the timeline, putting the receipts on the table, including context that cuts BOTH ways, and allowing the facts to lead us wherever they lead.
Swartz Creek, I have a feeling we're going to be spending some time together.
With receipts and respect,
Lady Budgetdown
Swartz Creek Community Schools
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