Kingsley Area Schools will put a $39.2 million bond proposal to voters this May – a request that if approved would add a new middle school wing to the high school campus, revamp existing buildings to host separate lower and upper elementary schools, create a new fitness center for student and community use, and make key security upgrades to district facilities. After the overwhelming defeat of Kingsley’s last bond proposal in 2019, school leaders went back to the drawing board and are hosting a series of upcoming community information sessions on the revamped proposal.

The district’s previous bond request – which was also nearly $40 million – failed in 2019 in a 385-1,099 vote. That request would have raised the district’s mill rate to 7 mills from its previous 2.43 mills. The proposal aimed to build a new middle school and new high school auditorium, among other projects. However, the combination of the significant rate hike and a series of controversies in 2019 – including the arrest of former Kingsley Middle School principal Karl Hartman – ultimately appeared to tank the proposal at the ballot.

Kingsley Area Schools Superintendent Joshua Rothwell – who joined the district in September 2023 – says school leaders have taken time to review that failed proposal and have “pared it down significantly.” School officials worked with architectural and construction management specialists to finalize a list of potential projects for a new bond. The district also distributed a community survey and held local stakeholder meetings. Since so many of Kingsley’s facilities are aging, Rothwell says, the cost of the initial project list was over $51 million. Officials narrowed down that list to “address priority needs such as lack of space, safety, and security,” according to bond presentation materials.

The new bond proposal – which will appear on the May 6 ballot in Grand Traverse County and part of Wexford County – is a $39.2 million, 30-year request. Because the 2019 proposal didn’t pass, Kingsley Area Schools currently levies 0 mills. Under the new request, the tax rate is projected to increase to 4.9 mills. For a home with a market value of $200,000 (taxable value of $100,000), that would amount to $490 per year. That rate could be lower for households that qualify for Michigan’s Homestead Property Tax Credit, school officials note.

Instead of building a new middle school, the new proposal aims to add a middle school addition to Kingsley High School – “creating one unified campus,” according to presentation materials. The existing middle school will be converted into an upper elementary school for grades 2-5, while the existing elementary school will become a new lower elementary school for grades Pre K-1. The two elementary schools will receive security upgrades including new entry doors and secure vestibule areas.

“Our current middle and elementary schools are quite small, and we’re jam-packed in there,” says Rothwell. “Security is an issue as well. The exterior doors are locked, and we have a buzzer system, but once someone is buzzed in they can roam everywhere. We want to have secure vestibules where once visitors come in, they can only go to the office area.”

Kingsley’s preschool classes are held in a four-room portable building that was meant to be temporary and has surpassed its lifespan, Rothwell says. He anticipates the district is not likely to receive continued licensing approval for that facility going forward, raising the question of where preschool classes would move. In a letter to families addressing the bond, Rothwell also said that “elementary teachers and students are doing classroom interventions and one-on-one work inside custodial rooms and closets.” In addition, “choir, band, and athletic programs are competing for limited gym space and time, while our musicians and artists lack a dedicated performance area,” Rothwell said.

The middle school addition would include an arts center/commons area and a multi-use space that could function as a gymnasium and auditorium. A fitness center would be available for both student and community use, says Rothwell, an addition that was included after a “lot of community input.” Rothwell said in his letter that the school board is “working diligently to allocate general fund dollars for essential repairs – like HVAC renovations and roofs – so that bond funding can be preserved for expanding student spaces.”

Rothwell says that with the district “at capacity” – and lacking modern security measures and amenities for academics, athletics, and the arts enjoyed by other neighboring districts – school leaders worked to create a proposal that would support upgraded student facilities “while also serving the broader Kingsley community.” Kingsley Area Schools will host a series of community informational sessions on the bond proposal on February 19, March 4, and March 19 (all sessions are at 6pm at Kingsley High School). While the election is on May 6, voters can request absentee ballots starting on March 27.

If voters reject a bond proposal again in May, Rothwell says the school district will have to “try and go to plan B. Our biggest challenge is what to do with the preschool students, as well as trying to be as secure as possible.” Rothwell says he’s heard from both naysayers and supporters in bond discussions so far and hopes residents will review the updated proposal details before heading to the polls. “That’s the most I can ask, is that folks just be informed when making their decision,” he says.