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MCC High School
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
SCOTTVILLE — On Tuesday, Nov. 4, voters in the Mason County Central School District will be asked to make a decision on a millage renewal request that will provides basic infrastructure needs along with safety and security upgrades to each of the school’s five buildings.
Unlike the previous three attempts made since 2022, this 2.15 mills request is strictly a renewal, said MCC Superintendent Jeff mount. If passed, the bond will generate up to $23,357,000. The renewal comes as the bond passed by voters in 2006 is set to expire.
In the previous attempt, voters were asked to vote on two separate proposals. Proposal 1 included the needs that are addressed in this current proposal. Proposal 2 included the construction of an auditorium. Mount said the auditorium is not included in this current proposal.
While Proposal 2 was defeated by a large majority, Proposal 1 was only defeated by about a dozen votes.
“When people see the entrance of our high school and the gymnasium, they are often deceived,” Mount said. “Those spaces, along with the Upper Elementary, were built in 2008 and 2009. They are now nearly 20 years old. I believe we have done a great job keeping those facilities and spaces in good shape. But, the high school opened in 1959 and much of it, what we call B Hall and C Hall, have had very little upgrades in the past 66 years.”
The district’s buildings are aging. Scottville Elementary, which houses grades kindergarten through two, is 74 years old, built in 1951, as is Victory Early Childhood Center, located on North Stiles Road in Victory Township. That building, until 2008, served as an elementary and now houses preschool. The High Schoold opened in 1959 and is 66 years old. The Middle School was built in 1976 and will soon be 50 years old. The Upper Elementary, the district’s newest building, will soon be 20 years old.
Along with the old building, many of them, including Scottville Elementary and the Middle School, still have the same desks that came with the buildings when they were new. Electrical systems in Scottville Elementary and the High School are outdated, at over seven decades old.
The schools entrances are unsafe by modern standards, easily accessible by a person with ill intentions, Mount said. Most of the school’s roadways are in need of new asphalt. While those surfaces were seal coated last year, the fix was only temporary. Additionally, many of the vehicle and traffic patterns are unsafe.
“The drop off and pick up zone that exists between the main campus’s three buildings — the High School, Upper Elementary, and Middle School — is unsafe and in need of a re-design,” Mount said.
“We have our needs and they haven’t gone away with the failed bond attempts,” Mount said. “In fact, they have now gotten worse.”
While many voters have likely voted by absentee, those who chose to vote in person may do so at their assigned polling place between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. MCP will be reporting on results, which usually will not be available until at least 9:30 p.m.
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