Farmington Schools Officials Blast 'Mistruths' in Bond Opposition Mailer

Farmington Public Schools Superintendent Sue Zurvalec and several board members on Tuesday criticized a mailer sent out by a Nov. 5 bond referendum opposition group as being filled with "half truths and mistruths". 

The over-sized postcard was sent by Farmington Kids 1st, an organization formed by members of Farmington Citizens United, which opposed the Aug. 6 bond referendum. 

"It is a reprehensible mailing, with mostly mistruths, but a few glaring errors," board member George Gurrola said. "I am astounded that an organization would spend the amount of money that it would require to send this size ad out to as many people as it did without doing some basic homework."

Gurrola proposed, and the board approved, a motion directing the superintendent to issue a press release responding to the mailer. Board member Frank Reid questioned whether that was necessary, but board member Sheilah Clay said she wanted to see a response disseminated beyond the broadcast of the school board meeting. 

The motion passed with six yes votes; board member Murray Kahn abstained. Kahn's wife, Sue Burstein, is listed as Farmington Kids 1st's treasurer. 

Zurvalec said the postcard was filled with "absolute mistruths and deceptions", and shared a response to a number of the card's claims:

Claim: Opposing the bond is something Republicans and Democrats agree on. Zurvalec said the Farmington/Farmington Hills Democratic Club endorsed both school bond proposals in a resolution dated September 18, 2013, and the district has no information about any action by the Farmington Area Republican Club. 

Claim: Not a penny goes to educate children. "I think that's probably one of the most insulting things that's in this card," Zurvalec said. "Students have to have a safe and functional environment in which to learn. It's absolutely, 100 percent dedicated to helping our kids learn." The bond also includes technology, which is directly involved in student learning.

Claim: The district has been negligent and mismanaged funds. "We are prudent and always have been responsible and transparent," Zurvalec said, noting the district has received annual “clean, unqualified” audit opinions and holds AAA and Aaa rating, from Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s respectively. In addition, the district has received national awards for its financial reporting, she said.

Claim: The Power Center is receiving its first major renovation since the 1970s, at a cost of $1.5 million. FPS costs for three auditoriums is $15 million. Zurvalec said the Ann Arbor facility's operations manager confirmed the facility has received "numerous renovations", and most recently spent more than $2.5 million. She noted the comparison is also "apples and oranges", as the Power Center was built with many of the features proposed in the bond request for Farmington high school auditoriums. 

Only 27.3 percent of Farmington high school seniors are college ready.
Zurvalec called that "a misuse of statistics". The report referenced in the card has the state at 18.1 percent, Oakland County at 25.1 percent and Farmington at 27.3 percent, based on ACT "college ready benchmarks". Those numbers have no connection to college admission, Zurvalec said; 95 percent of Farmington students go on to a four-year university, community college or technical school. 

More information about the bond can be found on the district's website: http://www.farmington.k12.mi.us/bond_nov_2013.php. And you can view the school board meeting through the TV-10 On Demand link on the district's website.