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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
SCOTTVILLE — On Tuesday, Nov. 4, voters approved a bond renewal of 2.15 mills, which will generate $23,357,000 for much needed updates to the school’s aging buildings, roadways and equipment.
The bonds will be sought in two series. The first series of bonds, approximately $8 million, will be sold beginning in January 2026. The second series of bonds, approximately $14 million, will be sold in January 2028.
Before the bonds are sold, however, the school must seek bids for an architect and a building contractor.
“In the next two months, the board of education will be making those decisions,” MCC Superintendent Jeff Mount said. “Once they are in place, we can begin selling the bonds.”
Mount said the first phase of construction, being called Series 1, will consist of “low hanging fruit.”
“These are the items that are much needed but don’t require quite as much disruption to the learning environment,” Mount said. “The public won’t see much actual work happening until next summer. Much of the most visible work will be the replacement of much of the asphalt on our campuses. But, it’s likely that the re-design of the primary drop-off and pick-up zone corridor between the high school, upper elementary and middle school won’t take place until the summer of 2027.”
Series 1 projects will include:
Bus Garage: Parking lot and drive improvements.
High School: Acoustical panels in classroom C2; replacement of lockers in the main gym’s boys’ locker room.
Athletic facilities and outdoor sites: New soccer field scoreboard; technology equipment, home team restroom facilities on the southwest corner of Spartan Community Field; campus-wide directional signage; campus-wide asphalt improvements; baseball field parking; baseball and soccer field drainage improvements; maintenance equipment; improve Upper Elementary outdoor playing field equipment and drainage; replace Scottville Elementary basketball court (“Magic Square”) fencing and playing equipment.
Scottville Elementary (grades kindergarten to two): Corridor ventilation; ceiling tile replacement; window covering replacement; secure entry; exterior envelope improvements; technology equipment upgrades; window replacement.
Middle School (grades 6 to 8): Replace furniture; replace millwork and tops in classroom pods; secure entry; upgrade gymnasium basketball equipment; replacing ceiling pads; technology equipment; replace tops of lockers; install wrestling mat hoist; replace interior doors.
The second phase, Series 2, will take place beginning in 2028.
“This will mostly be major improvements to the high school,” Mount said. “This will be the ‘heavy lifting’ portion of the bond project. You’re going to see some heavy construction happening during this phase.”
Series 2 projects will mostly be confined to the high school and will include:
Addition of corridor ventilation; removal of corridor transom glazing; replacement of corridor windows at home economic room; remodel existing entry vestibule/corridor (secured entrance); add more classroom electrical outlets; replace classroom flooring; modernize home economic classroom; new window treatments; replace classroom millwork; replace stained or damaged ceiling tiles in classrooms; major B hall bathroom renovations; paint walls in A and D halls; upgrade A.O. Carlson Gymnasium with new audio/video equipment, lighting, acoustical treatments, new cushioned theater-style seating to accommodate 400 people, air conditioning addition and heating replacement, flooring replacement, install bleachers, new basketball hoops, scoreboard replacement; additional theater support space; replace boilers and pumps; replace vestibule cabinet unit heaters; convert select classrooms into a weight room; new technology equipment; remodel student commons area; replace lockers; replace flooring and ceilings in B and C halls; replace furniture; renovate main office; remove classroom skylights; add exit doors to increase exit capacity; replace select exterior doors; add treatment to library coordinator windows; add treatment to technology room corridor windows; add marquee sign; improve roadway traffic design.
Tuesday’s referendum unofficially passed 940 to 673 (results from the two Lake County precincts have not yet been reported but will not impact the outcome).
This was the fourth attempt MCC has made for a bond since 2022. However, unlike the previous requests, this millage was for a renewal rather than an increase. The previous bond, which started in 2006, expires the end of this year. That bond paid for the Upper Elementary along with a new gymnasium and hallway at the High School plus other school upgrades.
This is the sixth facility bond in the school district’s 70 year history. See related story here.
The newest MCC building, the Upper Elementary, is nearly 20-years-old. The oldest two buildings, Scottville Elementary and Victory Early Childhood Center (the former Victory Elementary) were built in 1951. The high school was built in 1959 and the middle school was built in 1976.
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