WDET News
- Detroit Voters To Decide School Bond Issue
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Nov 2, 2009GeneralDetroit voters face a ballot question in tomorrow/today’s (TUES) election…regarding whether the city should use bond monies to erect new schools…and rebuild others.
WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter has more…
The bond measure is called Proposal S…and would raise about half-a-billion dollars to build eight new schools and renovate 10 others.
The Detroit school district would borrow the money under two federal stimulus initiatives.
The school system’s state-appointed financial manager – Robert Bobb – says there would be no question of where or when the bond money would be spent.
“The beauty behind this program is that these funds have to be spent within three years. Unlike the 1994 bond measure where we’re just now spending the last of the funds that were approved in 1994 as part of a one-point-five billion dollar program. So should this measure win…we have to set up a process very quickly so that we can move these projects quickly.”
Opponents counter that the district should wait at least until there is an official count of student enrollment – which helps determine funding – before trying to raise additional money.Emergency financial manager Bobb spoke as a guest on WDET’s Detroit Today.