Voters Approve $23.5 Million School Bond

The votes are in, and the $23.5 million school bond proposal has been approved by voters, according to unofficial results displayed on the Ingham County Clerk’s website. 

According to the unofficial results, just over two-thirds of voters favored the bond, with 3,141 votes in favor and 1,475 against. 

The bond will allow for the school district to increase security and accessibility measures at East Lansing High School and MacDonald Middle School. Additionally, the funds will be used to create a new district administration building on Towar Avenue. 

The bond proposal was developed after a series of scary incidents in the school district last year, which brought safety concerns to the forefront. 

The bond’s approval will allow the high school to construct a new secure entrance and office area, and replace all classroom and office interior door hardware. Additionally, in the high school the bond will pay for upgrades to security cameras and the security management system, upgrades to the HVAC control system, expansion of cafeteria seating and the addition of an interior ramp.

Similarly, at MacDonald Middle School interior door hardware will be replaced, security cameras will be upgraded, the HVAC control system will be upgraded and an interior ramp will be added. The bond will also pay for carpet replacement at the middle school.

The district administration building will be located at a property on Towar Avenue that the district already owns. Currently, district administration is housed downstairs in the high school.

In a previous interview, East Lansing Public Schools Superintendent Dori Leyko told ELi the new district administration building is important because it will allow school officials to work with first responders if there is an emergency. 

“There is the importance of having decision makers and office folks available if there’s a lockdown,” Leyko said. “Our high school’s our biggest building and if the high school is to go into lockdown, me, our director of health and safety, our assistant superintendent, we would also all be locked down and we wouldn’t be able to be out working with our first responders and addressing any situation.” 

The bond proposal won’t increase taxes on voters, rather it will keep the millage consistent with what it was in 2023. Had the proposal been rejected by voters, the millage would have incrementally dropped off.

The vote comes after a monthslong effort from school officials to appeal to voters. The school district put on four separate information sessions to answer questions from residents and created a new webpage specifically to spread awareness about what the bond entails. 

A slow election day provided an opportunity to train new election workers. 

East Lansing voters once again heavily favored absentee voting. Unofficial results showed that 3,872 ballots were cast via absentee ballot, and just 744 ballots were cast at the polls on election day.

A slow election day can be expected when there is just one local issue at stake, and that is especially true when fewer than 20% of ballots are actually cast at the polls on the day of the election.

The city has been pushing to recruit new election workers, and Wicks thanked City Manager Robert Belleman for helping to attract workers by increasing the pay of precinct workers from $15 to $20 per hour, and precinct chairs from $17 to $25 per hour. 

“We have absolutely had a lot of good fortune in finding election workers,” Wicks said. 

Still, much more recruitment will be needed ahead of November’s election. Wicks said she would like about 300 more workers than there were for the May 7 election, and 400 to 500 total workers for the general election. This will include many who will help with the early voting process, which will hopefully reduce the length of election day lines. 

“We’re going to be using a lot of people,” Wicks said. 

With the low election day turnout, the May 7 election was a good opportunity for new election workers to get some action, as the city gears up for what will be a very busy general election in November. 

Margie Ring served as the precinct three chair at the Hannah Community Center. Ring said one of the workers at her precinct was working their first election, and the lower turnout for the special election provided good practice. 

“It does help when it’s slower, they can see how things work and get an opportunity to experience the different positions,” Ring said. 

Gary Beaudoin is a veteran election worker who served as chair for precinct 10. He said that he encouraged voters who showed interest in working future elections to go to the clerk’s office to get information on how to become a precinct worker ahead of the August and November elections. 

Beaudoin is hoping more young people get involved in working future elections.

“When you look at who works them, it’s a lot of older people,” he said. “It’s really a pretty good gig for a college kid.”

With Michigan State University students heading home following the conclusion of the school year, turnout was especially low on campus. Wicks said the city anticipated the low turnout on campus and consolidated its usual five campus precincts down to two locations, which is allowed under state law. 

“I came from a campus precinct and there were zero votes,” Wicks said. 

This will certainly not be the case in November. As recently as the 2022 midterm elections, students could be seen wrapped around Brody Hall in line to vote. 

Students will represent the biggest jump in voter turnout from this election to the November general election, but turnout will increase across demographics. To put the May 7 election in perspective, over 4,600 ballots were cast regarding the school bond. In the 2022 midterm elections, when state and federal elections lured voters to the polls, there were 15,734 votes cast in the East Lansing Board of Education race that year. In the 2020 general elections, more than 17,000 ballots were cast in the board of education race.