Voters in the Kalamazoo Public Schools district will see a bond issue on the May 8th ballot. If approved, the bonds would provide the district with more than $96 million. KPS is seeking a 1.25-mill property tax increase to pay the debt.
The largest share of the money would go toward routine replacements of things like roofs, boilers, buses and parking lots. The bonds would also pay for technology upgrades, a new building for the Edison Environmental Science Academy and a kitchen that would allow the district to serve fresh food. Right now most of KPS' meals for students come from cans or the freezer.
Deputy Superintendent Gary Start says 15 schools would get a security upgrade: an entrance that would deliver visitors to the front office.
“It’s much better for the visitor to walk directly into the office where you can stop them if it seems inappropriate than to have them walk into a hall and decide to go down the other hall, instead of the office,” he said.
Loy Norrix High School employee Gloria Cottrell, who attended a KPS forum on the request, said she supports securing those entrances.
“So that both students and parents are happier, knowing that we’ve done all we could to make our students safe,” she said.
KPS made its last bond request in 2013.
