Dearest reader,
Lady B has spent enough time inside DeWitt Public Schools' 51-page Treasury application that she may soon qualify for residency. 😂
But we finally have something much easier to understand.
DeWitt is asking voters to authorize a $157 million bond.
The district's Form 3881 submitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury breaks the proposed projects down by building/package.
So rather than another brochure full of percentages, let's open the ledger.
📌 DeWitt High School
$90,852,978
📌 DeWitt Middle School
$28,019,288
📌 Schavey Road Elementary
$12,395,160
📌 Herbison Woods
$12,300,612
📌 Scott Elementary
$7,890,895
📌 Other district project package
$4,034,105
📌 Buses/equipment package
$2,525,568
TOTAL PROJECT COSTS:
$158,018,606
Now, before someone reaches for a calculator and says:
"Lady B! I thought the bond was $157 million!"
It is. 🪶
The 3881 reconciles the difference:
$158,018,606 — Total project costs
+ $1,466,224 — Election/bond-issue costs
− $2,484,830 — Estimated interest earnings
= $157,000,000 PROPOSED BOND ISSUE
And the $157 million itself is planned across three bond series:
📌 Series 1 — $17.61 million
📌 Series 2 — $100.01 million
📌 Series 3 — $39.38 million
TOTAL: $157 MILLION
Now look back at those building numbers for a moment.
The largest project package is DeWitt High School at approximately $90.85 million.
The next largest is DeWitt Middle School at approximately $28.02 million.
Then come Schavey Road Elementary, Herbison Woods and Scott Elementary.
And within the High School plans is the 110,000-square-foot fieldhouse Lady B broke down in the previous post.
The 3881 shows:
Fieldhouse Phase 1 — $1,607,555
Fieldhouse Phase 2 — $17,281,410
Total after construction-year escalation — $18,888,965
Current construction estimate before that escalation — approximately $12.94 million.
So now we can see the proposal from the top down:
$157 million proposed bond.
Three planned bond series.
$158.02 million in underlying project costs.
And individual project packages showing where those dollars are expected to go.
No, Lady B is not going to list every roof, floor, parking lot, electrical upgrade and door hinge contained in 51 pages of construction estimates.
Nobody deserves that Facebook post. 😂
But when taxpayers are being asked to authorize $157 million, the big numbers deserve daylight.
And now you have them.
With receipts and respect. 🪶
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