Supporting the Future of Van Buren

On Tuesday, September 16, 2003 patrons of the Van Buren School District will be asked to support the future of Van Buren by supporting a school millage. The 3.9 mill increase, (approximately $6.50 per month tax increase on a $100,000.00 home) will provide needed improvements on every school-site in the District and expand nine (9) of our eleven (11) campuses to meet anticipated growth needs for the next ten (10) years.

This issue of “The View” is dedicated to presenting a clear, school-by-school explanation of what will be accomplished at each school site. A committee of approximately forty (40) community leaders and VBSD personnel worked over a year to develop a master plan for school facilities that would provide the means for Van Buren children to access a world class education. In this particular article, several members of the Van Buren School District Facilities Steering Committee have explained why they feel the millage proposal is important to the future of Van Buren.

Gene Neidecker:“How important is it for us to pass a 3.9 millage increase for our schools?” This is the question we have to ask ourselves this September. Some of our buildings are in much need of attention. We as voters voted for our School Board members intrusting them to oversee our school system. Now they are asking for a millage increase to bring our schools up to par. As a past local School Board member serving for seventeen years and a past State School Board member I am asking everyone to get behind our current School Board and vote YES for a 3.9 millage increase in September.

David Swaim:As a local businessman I was asked to serve on the VBSD Facilities Steering Committee. This gave me the opportunity to tour most of our schools as well as our administration building. It became apparent to me that some of our current facilities are outdated and woefully inadequate due to lack of space, cosmetic problems, and other issues. With the growth of Van Buren over the last twenty-five years and the anticipated growth over the next twenty-five years, I believe that it is critical that we embark upon a plan immediately to improve our facilities to give our children and our teachers every possible opportunity to succeed. It is my opinion that the 3.9 mill increase is a very minimal investment for the dividends that it will pay. Van Buren has a great school system, and will only get better with adequate facilities for our teachers to teach and for our students to learn.

Gene Bell: As former mayor, I am very aware of the role that good schools play in attracting business and industry to a community. Passage of this millage increase will continue giving Van Buren a needed edge for attracting the most desirable jobs to our city. I urge you vote YES for a 3.9 millage increase in September.

Derek Barlow, Attorney: I support the upcoming 3.9 millage increase because the revenue it will generate will be used entirely to improve the quality of the education provided by the Van Buren School District from kindergarten through high school. I have always felt that the public schools provide an accurate indication of the quality of life in the community itself. The quality of life in Van Buren is presently on the high end of the spectrum, but if we want to improve upon that, or even maintain it, we must start with an investment in our schools and tomorrow’s citizens.

Each and every resident of Van Buren benefits when the public school system is able to provide the type of education to our children that will allow them to more successfully compete for higher quality jobs in the workforce and/or to further their education in college. The increase in the millage will be so insignificant to the individual property owners in Van Buren when compared to the impact that the generated revenues will have on the quality of life of each and every Van Buren resident.

Please support, and encourage others to support, the investment in Van Buren and its future by voting yes to the proposed millage on Tuesday, September 16th.

Sandy Ellison: As an active PTA/community volunteer I joined the committee after it had already been well established, but I know the committee worked hard to make this plan affordable. For example, there were a lot of things they thought would be nice for our students to have, but when they were all put together, it came with a bigger price tag than the committee thought the community could support. We went back and said “What do we really need as opposed to what we would like to have?” That question led us to this final ten-year improvement plan, one that will give our students the facilities they need to compete with students anywhere, and still be affordable to the taxpayers. I urge you to support the proposed millage increase.

Clifford Lyon: During 1965, Van Buren opened a new high school to accommodate 575 students and a faculty of around 30 teachers and administrators. Over the last 38 years the student count at Van Buren High School has grown to over 1,100 students and the staff to over 74. It is obvious to those of us who have recently toured the high school, that the facilities today are inadequate to meet the needs of our current student population and professional staff of educators and support personnel. Modern technology and the restrictions imposed by the current high school demand that we provide our children with an atmosphere that stimulates, challenges, and promotes the expectation of a higher level of academic achievement.

As an employer and resident of Van Buren, the future for all of us relies on the student population that will someday become working members of companies in and around Van Buren. We must provide the children of Van Buren facilities that meet the needs of today and not those of 40 years ago. Your YES vote for the 3.9 mill increase in September says you support the education of our children and Van Buren graduates for years to come.