WHITEHALL — The Whitehall school board Wednesday welcomed Nick Wallis of Pure Architects and Jamie Cardinal of Clark Construction Company to share some of the process that led to the district's bond proposal that will be on the ballot in November. The two companies have worked with the district since August 2024 to assess its needs.
The district's tagline for the proposal is "Safe. Warm. Dry." as it emphasizes addressing the most critical and student-focused needs in the district. Many of those needs revolve around the heating and cooling systems in school buildings, with a secured entrance at the high school also a priority.
The bond is for $30 million and would restore the school's homestead property tax millage rate to the five mills that it had in 2024. This year's millage rate is 3.2 mills.
The operating millage voters approved earlier this year applied to non-homestead properties, and that money is limited to use on day-to-day operations. Bonds that cost more than 5% of the school's debt limit must be approved by voters by state law.
Superintendent CJ Van Wieren noted that from 2001-23, the rate was seven mills, and the five mills the district is now seeking would still leave the district with the lowest such rate in Muskegon County. That millage rate, if passed, would hold through 2029 before slowly falling over time as the bonds come closer to being paid off.
Van Wieren noted that in consultation with Wallis and Cardinal, many more needs were found than the ones addressed in the bond proposal, but the district wanted to concentrate on filling the most urgent needs while being "mindful" of the impact of the millage rate on taxpayers.
Cardinal said she and her team were aware of past millage requests by the district that have been voted down at the ballot box and felt her staff was able to bring "a fresh set of eyes" to determine the biggest needs and how best to meet them. Discussions with facility operations teams, principals, and administration were part of the process as well.
The district, Pure Architects and Clark also used several community engagement sessions - workshops, surveys and community meetings - to collect public feedback. Wallis chuckled that a survey of Whitehall students produced a wide range of responses, though safety and temperature were among them.
The bond proposal includes heating and cooling upgrades in all four school buildings, including a boiler replacement at Shoreline Elementary, where the district has said it's passed its expected usage life. At the middle school, Van Wieren said he noticed that even this week, with unseasonably comfortable temperatures, some rooms were measured in the low 80s, producing a potentially stifling environment.
The secured-entry facility, Van Wieren said, would force anyone coming into the school during the day to walk through the office first, similarly to other district buildings.
Also part of the proposal are cafeteria upgrades at Shoreline, the middle school and the high school. Wallis said on exploratory visits to the Shoreline cafeteria, he noticed the acoustics produced such a loud environment that some students had earplugs in. He called the environment "disregulating."
There will be more community engagement sessions as the election approaches, Van Wieren said. One is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Sept. 10 at the high school and another for Sept. 24 at the middle school. The district has emphasized community input as it seeks approval for the proposal.
Treasurer Jimmy TenBrink asked Wallis and Cardinal what the projected timeline was for the various improvements, hoping the work could be completed by the start of the 2027-28 school year. Cardinal said she's also hopeful of that but did not want to make promises, as any number of factors could result in delays. She said the likely timeline would see the addition of new furniture and roofing improvements (also parts of the proposal) in the summer of 2026, with the bulk of other work being done the summer of 2027.
