ROCKFORD, Mich. — After a school bond failed last November, Rockford Public Schools surveyed residents to find out what matters most to the community — and safety and security topped the list. Now, some residents say the district doesn't need a new bond to make those improvements happen.
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Robbie Augustine, co-chairperson of Transparency for Rockford Taxpayers, says the survey results were no surprise to his group.
"The one thing that stood out, 97% of the people who responded had a vaguely positive feeling about supporting school security. And go one step further, you say 80% were passionate about it," Augustine said.
His group believes the upgrades can be funded now, without waiting for another bond proposal.
"Everybody wants school security, and as a group, we started talking about, is this something we can get done? We don't have to wait for this next bond to come up to make these improvements," Augustine said.
The bond proposal that voters rejected in November included $3.2 million for security upgrades. Augustine says the district's sinking fund currently holds around $5.5 million — enough to cover those improvements without a tax increase. He argues that the money has been accumulating unused.
"Within that fund, there's about four years' worth of money that they haven't spent. And this is supposed to be money that comes in, and it fills the needs that the district has that year," Augustine said.
Rockford Public Schools Superintendent, Steven Matthews, says the district's buildings are currently safe, despite the November request for additional funding.
"Safety and security are always an important piece of the puzzle here in Rockford," Matthews said.
He added that the district is already ahead of many others when it comes to security infrastructure.
"We're kind of ahead of the curve of a lot of districts. We have invested both in things and in people. You know, we have the electronic door locks in a variety of places. We also have secure vestibules. We have security cameras throughout the district," Matthews said.
Matthews says the district is using $1.7 million from the sinking fund this summer for repairs to the high school, and drawing an additional $3 million for security would leave the district without enough reserves to respond to an emergency.
"If we had a catastrophic event, you know, a three-foot snowstorm, for example, that would cave in a roof or high wind that would blow trees down and damage a roof. We need resources to fix that immediately, and that comes from the sinking fund," Matthews said.
While Matthews says he appreciates the community's effort to find solutions, he cautions against a narrow focus.
"But that solution, from my perspective, has to be put into a bigger picture and look at all the priorities that we have and not just focus on a single priority that we had identified for the bond," Matthews said.
The district says additional surveys are planned for later this year to ensure the district and the community remain aligned on priorities.
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