Dearborn Public Schools bond proposal: Historic $1.5 billion project would span 20 years

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The Dearborn schools bond proposal; Fordson High School pictured in background.

FOX 2 - Voters in Dearborn and a portion of Dearborn Heights will cast their ballot on what the school district is calling a $1.5 billion dollar "transformational bond" which would span 20 years.

The backstory:

The bond proposal would impact every school, broken up in four phases to renovate every facility, build new ones, improve safety standards and add STEAM learning spaces among the improvements.

A 3.14 mill increase would fund the plan, but taxpayers can expect to see no change. Proponents say the cost will be offset by city and school reductions in operating millages. Making up the math is:

The elimination of 2.18 mills with Dearborn Public Schools stopping the collection of an operating millage if the new bond passes.

The elimination of 0.96 mill from the combined sewer overflow project, which is ending. This reduction will take place regardless, even if the school bond proposal fails.

Dearborn Heights residents who live in the northern sliver that falls within the Dearborn Public Schools boundary, would see an increase because of the sewer overflow project millage outside the city for which they were never taxed.

Residents would see a net increase of 0.96 mill in school-related property taxes. For residents, that would equal approximately:

$96 per year for every $100,000 in taxable value
$192 per year for $200,000 in taxable value
About $8 per month per $100,000 in taxable value

Dearborn School Millage Funding

Dig deeper:

The district says students would see improvements within three years, while the plan pays for 20 years of improvements. Proponents of the plan say the work will take place in four phases, with the greatest areas of need emphasized, and community input before each phase.

The work includes:

Six new pre-K through eighth-grade schools.
Major renovations at nearly every other elementary and middle school.
Extensive renovations at Fordson, Dearborn and Edsel Ford high schools.
Secure vestibules at 24 schools.
Repairs to roofs, boilers, HVAC systems and restrooms.
New STEAM, career and technical education spaces.
Athletic facility upgrades, technology improvements and replacement buses.
A long-term goal of air-conditioning every school.

The bond would be repaid over approximately 30 years. Dearborn Public Schools

What is a millage?

Big picture view:

A mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of a property's taxable value.

By the numbers:

To find out how much a millage is, multiply your property's taxable value by the number of mills and divide by 1,000 – keeping in mind the taxable value on your home is not the same number as how much your house is worth, and that it will be lower. You can find the taxable value of your home on your tax bill or your government’s online database.

What The Ballot Question Will Look Like

Dearborn Public Schools School Improvement Bond Proposition

Shall the Dearborn Public Schools, County of Wayne, State of Michigan, borrow the sum of not to exceed One Billion Five Hundred Ten Million Dollars ($1,510,000,000) and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds, in multiple series, to pay the cost of the following projects in order to implement the School District’s 2026 Facilities Master Plan which includes the construction of new preK-8 school buildings, major renovations at all school buildings including the three high schools, expanding space for career education programs, safety and security measures, improving infrastructure for STEAM programs, and traffic improvements:

Erecting and completing new school buildings and other facilities;
Remodeling, constructing additions to, equipping, re-equipping, furnishing, re-furnishing school buildings, athletic fields, playgrounds and other facilities;
Acquiring and installing instructional technology infrastructure and equipment in school buildings and other facilities; and
Preparing, developing and improving sites at school buildings, athletic fields, playgrounds and other facilities and the purchase of school buses?

The maximum number of years any series of bonds may be outstanding, exclusive of refunding, is not more than thirty (30) years; the estimated millage that will be levied to pay the proposed bonds in the first year is 3.14 mills (which is equal to $3.14 per $1,000 of taxable value); and the estimated simple average annual millage that will be required to retire each series of bonds is 5.67 mills annually ($5.67 per $1,000 of taxable value).

(Pursuant to State law, expenditure of bond proceeds must be audited, and the proceeds cannot be used for teacher, administrator or employee salaries, repair or maintenance costs or other operating expenses.)