5 Rumors About the Farmington Public Schools $222 Million Bond

1. Bond funds are not going toward education. 

This claim was part of a mailer distributed by a group that opposes the referendum. While they express support for $90 million in "necessary repairs", they charge that "not a penny" of the bond proceeds will go toward educating students. If the definition of "educating students" is limited to general fund dollars spent on salaries and curriculum materials, opponents are correct. This is capital bond; none of the funds can be moved to the general fund and spent on operations. 

However, teachers say that reconfigured classroom spaces, replacements for aged and broken furnishings, and more access to technology will support their work in educating students and better prepare them for college and the workplace. 

2. The district will have to float another bond, because artificial turf replacement has a life of only 10 years.

The Farmington Public Schools bond is structured so that repayment of bond funds used for the turf replacement will not exceed the life of the fields proposed at all three high schools. That's required by law. Supt. Sue Zurvalec said at a recent board meeting that one turf replacement is built into the bond series. The same holds true for technology; it must be paid off within the life of the equipment, and a "refresh" is built in to the life of the bond. 

3. The "Vote Yes" committee was denied a booth in the Farmington Founders Festival. 

While the district had a booth during the festival to share information about the bond, the group advocating for the bond was denied that opportunity. Some who support the bond have said the denial resulted because the Farmington Downtown Development Authority (DDA) opposes the bond. 

DDA director Annette Knowles explains: "We declined this request to comply with a goal to minimize  campaigning (of any kind) during the festival. You will recall that when the streetscape bond issue was proposed in 2008, we followed the same path. We tried to educate the public with information-based activities, and the pro-vote group was not invited to engage within the events.

"Farmington Public Schools representatives made a presentation to the DDA board at its meeting last month. The DDA Board as a whole did not take action on a position on the bond issue. The rumor that the DDA opposes the bond is just that, a rumor."

4. The district is holding the bond referendum in August, because the voter turnout will be lower and the bond has a better chance of passing. 

Under Michigan law, school districts can hold bond elections four times during the year: the fourth Tuesday in February, first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August, and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Officials have said they chose an August date so that, if the bond passes, initial work could begin during the 2013-2014 school year, with construction getting underway next summer. Waiting until November, they say, would push construction into the following year and could result in higher interest rates, driving up the cost of the bond. 

The highest voter turnouts for operating and bond millage elections in Farmington have come in August 2004 and 2010, during primary elections with other issues on the ballot. The 2004 capital bond for athletic facilities and building improvements passed by more than 900 votes; the 2010 levy renewal passed by a more than two-to-one margin. The lowest voter turnout was recorded in September of 1988, when a bond for a new elementary school and early childhood center failed, with just 2,546 ballots cast.

5. The district is misrepresenting the length of the bond as 25 years, when it won't be paid off for 32 years. 

The last line in the bond proposal question states that bonds "may be issued in multiple series, payable in the case of each series in not to exceed 25 years from the date of issue of such series." Officials expect three separate bond sales, ranging from $72 million to $75 million, with the final sale happening around 2020. The last bond must be paid off within 25 years, or by 2045, which is, indeed, 32 years from 2013. There is an amortization schedule posted on the district's website. 

What rumors have you heard? What questions do you have? Tell us with a comment, and we'll track down answers.