GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public School leaders urged people to approve a multimillion dollar bond proposal at an event on Tuesday.
The “Yes for GR Kids” campaign looks to show support for the proposal’s passage, which residents will vote on during the November 2023 general election.
Supporters of it include state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce.
If approved, the bond would raise $305 million dollars without an increase in taxes. Property owners would instead continue to pay an already existing 3.85 mills.
“It might be an expansion or include more Montessori growth on the southeast side of the city as an example,” said Dr. Leadriane Roby, GRPS superintendent. “[The bond] really just allows our young people to thrive and have different choices, so they don't feel like they have to go from one side of the city to the other, [and] to make sure from an equity standpoint that they have quality schools with rigorous, relevant education in every part of our community.”
Roby says that as the Grand Rapids Board of Education looks to close some of its buildings because of a decline in enrollment, the proposal allows them to address others.
Most of the money would fund additions and renovations at elementary and middle schools, but improve auditoriums and playgrounds.
A breakdown of how the money would be spent includes:
- Educational Building Construction (New, Add’s, Reno’s): $233,621,642
- Consolidation Improvements: $29,147,998
- Renovations of Auditoriums: $12,714,904
- Renovations of Athletics: $12,714,904
- Technology: $7,360,206
- Playgrounds: $3,826,516
- Safety & Security: $5,613,829
“It’s a lot of different things about overall facilities, but then it's also that programmatic piece,” said Roby. “Then in addition to that, it's around the supports that we offer with social emotional support, safety, and security, because all of those things play into what kind of experience someone has when they walk into our buildings.”
Roby and Kimberley Williams, the BOE president, say that type of investment would not happen without approval of the bond.
“We want to make sure that when our kids come into our buildings, that they feel that GRPS pride, and it's not that they have somehow feel other because we have these building that are bad and maybe are not state of the art,” said Williams.
