MCC board approves placing bond proposal on ballot.

MCC board approves placing bond proposal on ballot.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

SCOTTVILLE — The Mason County Central Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to place a $33,635,000 bond proposal on the May election ballot to fund district-wide facility upgrades.

According to Superintendent Jeff Mount, MCC property owners are currently paying the lowest debt tax rate in recent history due to the payoff of previous bond debt. If approved by voters on May 3, the tax rate will be near that of 2015, a 1.95 mill increase over the current debt rate, which equals approximately $8.13 per month for every $100,000 in assessed taxable property value.

“The Mason County community has been incredibly supportive to our schools; in return we have been fiscally responsible with the investment and we continue to maintain the facilities to best of our ability leveraging outside funds where we can and providing the best possible programs and learning environments for our kids,” Mount said. “This bond issue would allow us to address issues that are beyond our annual budget. With voter support, we will be able to responsibly address aging infrastructure, safety and programmatic needs across campus.”

If approved, the bond proposal would provide funding for multiple years that would allow the district to complete improvements to elementary, middle school and high school, including safety and security updates, renovation of the oldest classrooms and corridors at the high school, construction of a community auditorium, and a chance to address aging building systems in every building.

“The projects were developed after an in-depth facilities assessment, and multiple staff and administration work sessions were completed to gauge project priority,” Mount said. “MCC is working with architecture and engineering firm GMB and construction management partner The Christman Company. 

“We have been able to maintain our facilities for many years,” said Mount. “Now, we have the opportunity to make needed updates throughout the district that can impact current and future MCC learners.”  

The district will hold a community forum on Wednesday, March 15 at 6 p.m. in AO Carlson Gymnasium with an option to join virtually and provide further information about the bond scope over the next few months. If voters approve the bond proposal the project’s design and engineering process would take over a year. Construction would begin in the spring of 2023.

Complete details about the bond projects are available on the district’s website, www.mccschools.org, under “Bond Proposal Information.”

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.