Ovid-Elsie schools weigh a bond vote for May or November 2027

Ovid-Elsie Area Schools is preparing to ask its taxpayers for money again, and the question is no longer whether but when. At a work session on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the Board of Education heard preliminary scenarios for putting a bond proposal on the ballot in either May 2027 or November 2027, according to minutes posted by the district.

Robert J. Naughton of PFM, the district's financial adviser, walked the board through the financial assumptions behind each date, the requirements of the State School Bond Loan Fund, and the timing considerations for each election. The minutes note one reason the calendar matters: the financial assumptions used to write a ballot question can change between the time the ballot is prepared and the time the bonds are actually sold.

That is the same state loan program the board has already touched. The Current reported in August that minutes from the July 20 regular meeting show the board approved a School Bond Qualification and Loan Program application on a 4-3 vote — the closest split the board has taken on the bond track so far.

The Sept. 9 session was also the district's first public look at what comes before a ballot question. Dan Tryles of Kingscott presented an overview of pre-bond services: reviewing the State of Michigan facilities assessment, conducting a more detailed assessment of the district's current and future building needs, engaging the community, developing project costs and setting priorities. Representatives of The Christman Company were on hand to answer questions. Both firms were interviewed by the board's facilities committee in August, as we reported at the time — Kingscott and GMB for architectural services on Aug. 11, and Christman and Clark for construction management on Aug. 10.

In discussion, the board pressed on two points recorded in the minutes: distinguishing needs from wants when setting priorities, and communicating to residents what the last bond actually paid for. The minutes say the board "recognized the financial concerns of community members" and stressed weighing the impact on taxpayers.

Attendance was thin for much of it. Board President Brooke Wooley called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. with Becky Williams and Josh Miller present. David Huff arrived at 4:18 p.m., Kevin Nash at 4:40 p.m., and Mary Thompson at 4:47 p.m., leaving at 5:48 p.m. Sue Greer was absent. The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m. Eleven administrators were listed as present.

The minutes close with a next step: a recommendation that the board go into contract with Kingscott and The Christman Company at its Sept. 21 regular meeting. The negotiated amounts of those contracts have not been posted, an open question this desk has been tracking since Sept. 22.

What happens next: Kingscott's facility assessment work drives the scope of any proposal, and the board has not chosen between the May 2027 and November 2027 ballots. No dollar amount, no millage rate and no list of buildings has been made public. The Current will ask the district for the signed contract amounts and for the assessment schedule.