The old building, built in 1922, will remain the home of Clare’s Middle School for now.
By Pat Maurer
Correspondent
It looks like Clare students will continue to be housed in the 100-year-old Middle School building for the foreseeable future after voters said no (unofficial count 764 no to 557 yes) Tuesday to a bond issue that would have built a new high school, renovated the present high school as a new middle school, modernized the learning environment, and improved infrastructure, safety and security for Clare students.
The present deteriorating Clare Middle School would have been demolished.
Last November Superintendent James Walter II outlined the background for the bond project. He said, “For the past several years, the Board of Education has been preparing the District for a bond issue to support a new facility, helping to modernize the education Clare students receive.”
Housed in the old Middle School auditorium, the Depression era murals, owned by the Federal Government and valued at over $30 million, would have been carefully removed and installed in another part of the school.
Board and committee members have been working on the project since 2021, when discussions first started.
The proposal was asking voters to approve a $68 million bond issue, approximately 8.5 mills over about 30 years for the extensive project which included upgraded facilities, plus a list of technology and safety upgrades.
That’s more than the original estimated costs for the project. The expediential rise in prices across the nation complicated matters.
In February, Walter told the board, “Construction costs for the school buildings project have exploded. I’m hearing about a 60 percent increase,” In answering a question at that meeting, Walter said because of the material cost increases, it (the millage cost) would be 8.54 mills ($8.54 for each $1,000 in property valuation for taxes) for 30 years – which included the current two mills for the last bond project.
Now the Board of Education will have to make some decisions on what the next step might be. Walter said Wednesday the matter would be discussed at the May 15 regular meeting.
Wednesday morning, Walter said in an email, “The Board will gather at their regular meeting on Monday, May 15th, and I’m sure they will take time to discuss the district’s needs…which didn’t change on May 3rd! The Board has always been thorough – I know they’ll talk through Clare’s history with bond issues and their own experiences. I think they’ll evaluate the current project for another presentation to the community, as well as consider trimming the project. We’ll see what’s ahead for Clare’s near future.”