Saginaw Township Community Schools - Facility Needs VS. Bond Proposals

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

A couple of readers recently brought some interesting breadcrumbs concerning Saginaw Township Community Schools to my attention.

And naturally, I followed them.

In August 2024, the district participated in Michigan's statewide school facilities assessment, conducted by R.C. Hendrick & Son, Inc.

That assessment identified approximately $68.07 million in facility repair needs, including $16.82 million classified as critical.

The district subsequently sought voter approval for two bond proposals, one for $169.21 million in 2025 and another for $94.235 million in 2026.

Both were rejected by voters.

The accompanying graphic compares the statewide assessment with the amounts proposed for each building in both bond applications.

But I wanted to look beyond the totals.

I compared the critical items identified in the statewide assessment with the project descriptions in the district's 2026 Michigan Treasury Form 3881.

Here are the critical items I could not find individually identified in those project descriptions.

ARROWWOOD ELEMENTARY

• Fire sprinklers: $820,288
• Emergency generator: $279,231
• Canopies: $69,460
• Intrusion detection: $34,904
• Interior signage, backflow preventer, entry barricade, and directional signage

HEMMETER ELEMENTARY

• Cooling system equipment: $347,302
• Fire sprinklers: $281,940
• Emergency generator: $93,980
• Interior signage: $48,622
• Intrusion detection, entry barricade, fencing, and directional signage

HERITAGE HIGH SCHOOL

• Fire sprinklers: $2,515,601
• Canopies: $347,302
• Impact-resistant interior glazing: $209,633
• Intrusion detection: $104,817
• Fixed window treatments: $83,352
• Code-compliant handrails: $55,568
• Interior signage: $48,622
• Numbered exterior doors, entry barricade, and directional signage

MACKINAW HIGH SCHOOL

• Playground surface: $650,482
• Fire sprinklers: $295,926
• Emergency generator: $98,642
• Canopies: $69,460
• Interior signage, intrusion detection, playground fencing, numbered doors, entry barricade, and directional signage

SHERWOOD ELEMENTARY

• Canopies: $7,214,916
• Fire sprinklers: $857,138
• Aquatic facilities: $347,302
• Emergency generator: $288,597
• Elevator or lift documented as not working: $138,921
• Window treatments: $130,238
• Exterior lighting, signage, intrusion detection, and entry barricade

WEISS ELEMENTARY

• Fire sprinklers: $281,715
• Emergency generator: $93,905
• Canopies: $69,460
• Interior signage: $31,604
• Playground fencing, intrusion detection, numbered exterior doors, entry barricade, and directional signage

WESTDALE ELEMENTARY

• Canopies: $69,460
• Classroom doors lacking inside-locking hardware: $32,299
• Interior signage: $24,311
• Intrusion detection, backflow preventer, fencing, entry barricade, and directional signage

WHITE PINE MIDDLE SCHOOL

• Classroom doors lacking inside-locking hardware: $112,526
• Intrusion detection: $71,393
• Code-compliant handrails: $33,341
• Backflow preventer: $4,168
• Entry barricade and directional signage

Now, an important distinction.

The 2026 Form 3881 uses broad project categories, including remodeling, construction, and site improvements. Some of these repairs could fall within those categories without being separately identified.

Therefore, I am not claiming these items were excluded from the bond proposal. I am identifying critical needs documented in the statewide assessment that I could not individually locate in the 3881 project descriptions.

And that brings me to my question.

When a district has an independent facilities assessment identifying millions of dollars in critical needs, shouldn't taxpayers be able to see exactly which of those needs are being addressed in a proposed bond?

Especially when those needs involve fire protection, emergency generators, security systems, and classroom door locks?

The statewide assessment tells taxpayers what was identified.

The bond application tells taxpayers what the district proposed to spend.

What remains unclear is precisely how those two documents connect.

And that, dearest reader, is why I follow the breadcrumbs.

With receipts and respect,
Lady Budgetdown

#LadyBudgetdown #SaginawTownshipCommunitySchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolBonds #Transparency #Accountability #WithReceiptsAndRespect