Reminder that I, Superintendent Erik Weatherwax, will be at the Jonesville Middle School library tomorrow at 5:30 to answer any last minute bond questions you may have. If you are unable to make it, feel free to call me at 849-9075 with your questions.
Hope to see you there and go Comets!!!
This is a mock-up of the updates to the football field that will be done with the bond. It's not exact because there has to be more detailed planning, but it shows a possible layout that includes the new handicapped parking, multipurpose building, sidewalk, and lights.
The 0 mill bond vote is next Tuesday, November 7th. This bond will not increase your taxes and the rate will go down over time. It focuses on safety and security, updates to classroom furniture and instructional technology, and infrastructure.
November Lunch menu!
Happy Halloween from Williams Elementary!
Bond language explained
Support our Comet band!
Comet community! We have a high school student, Ryder Cornett, who is in FFA whose fair project on "Analyzation of Food Waste in Our Society won at the state level. As a result, he is now a national finalist (Top 10 in the U.S.) and is competing next week at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. He needs our help to collect some more data on his project.
If you could take a quick couple of minutes and fill this out to help him out that would be great: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DRCRjG2t-L-93n1PoEKuVoyr3hR9a9cwf3G3gqkm6is/edit
Go Ryder and Comets!
Quick bond FAQ! November 7th is the vote!
We want to congratulate Mrs. Warner on being granted $4300 from the Hillsdale County Community Foundation and Heartwood Solar! This grant will be applied to teaching the kids at Williams how to code and improve their basic computer programming skills. By adding this technology component to the S.T.E.M curriculum, our students will have hands on learning opportunities and gain confidence as they begin their journey of success in today's world!
The bond vote is 2 weeks from today! Go to jonesvilleschools.org for more information about the bond.
This is the answer to the question, "Why didn't you just move the football complex to the high school along with the track?".
Here is a quick summary of the November 7th bond project. It is a 0 mill increase focusing on safety and security, classroom and instructional technology updates, and critical repairs/renovations.
The bond will not increase your taxes and they will begin going down in 2034 and continue to go down each year over the life of the bond. Visit Jonesvilleschools.org for more information!
First grade had "safetyville" stations set up this morning to teach students about how germs travel and how to prevent the spread of germs, how to keep their teeth clean, gun safety and what to do if they find a gun, traffic rules, bus safety, how to call 911, and a kids fire safety house which taught them how to exit a house that's on fire. Thank you so much to all of the people who made this possible for our first grade students!
This box along with valves and HVAC controls are what need to be replaced at Jonesville High School. When we upgraded our HVAC system a couple years ago, the problem we ran into is that the new system doesn't "talk" to the old system. It's too outdated. We had to update our software that ran both the high school and elementary because it ran on Windows '98, which is no longer supported or available so if the system went down we were out of luck. Right now, there are times that Vern has to climb up to manually move dampeners at the high school. It's another example of something that is just past its life. The committee selected this project because we need to finish updating our system and the new system can help with energy efficiency.
REMINDER!
Here are some photos from Mrs. Martin's art class. We are very excited to be able to offer this to our middle schoolers this year! They are doing great projects!
One of the questions I frequently get about the bond is, "Why don't you use the money you have?" Here is a pie graph of our 2022/23 school budget. This breakdown is very similar to districts statewide. The vast majority of a school district's expenses go towards staff (wages, benefits, retirement, etc.). And that is as it should be. You want to put your money towards your people.
The rest of the money then has to be divided up between transportation, athletics, supplies, technology and maintenance. In the pie chart, the ESSER funds were spent on the HVAC project at Williams last year so that is not in this year’s budget. Those monies are gone. The safety and security money must go towards safety and security and is temporary. Our maintenance budget which is around 3% of our total budget goes towards utilities, grounds, maintenance and custodial supplies, water, trash, and repair/purchased services. The repair/purchased services portion is what we have to work with for major projects. In times of an emergency, we can dip into our fund balance if we need to.
So why not just keep setting money aside? The district does and has. However, any money you are saving for the future is money we can't use for the needs of today. Our facilities director (Tom) has done a great job of repairing what we can but he is limited by our budget, the size of the project, and facilities that are just past their useful life.
Be sure to stop in or order from Cottage Inn today!
Jonesville Fire Department visited Williams Elementary today to give our student's information on fire safety, car safety, and much more! We also want to give a huge thanks to Mr. Stroble who is also a firefighter at the Jonesville Fire Department for organizing this fun day for our students!
These are some photos that show the state of our bleachers at the football field. The larger hole was a result of someone’s foot going through it to no fault of their own. Another is an image of a board that prevents items from falling below the bleachers that have fallen off. The bleachers are rotting. Not due to neglect but time. We can, and have, replace(d) boards. None of the complex is ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant. There is no, real, handicap parking at the field. There is no handicapped seating. There are no sidewalks which makes it difficult for our seniors and disabled to navigate to the bleachers. There is no locker room for our kids. They use the transportation garage and the visiting team goes back on their bus.
This 0 mill proposal provides new bleachers for both sides. The bleachers will have railing and the steps grip. The bond provides real handicapped parking. It provides sidewalks. It provides a multipurpose building that can house concessions, restrooms, storage, and locker rooms. It also provides new lighting for the stadium.
Remember, the majority of the bond is going towards school buildings in the form of safety and security, updated furniture and instructional technology, and repairs/renovations. However, our athletic complexes are also facilities. The football field is around 75 years old, possibly older. These are used by the entire community. Go to jonesvilleschools.org for more information. Go Comets!
