Voters gave a passing grade to a $550 million bond proposal for Utica Community Schools. The proposal would fund improvements for the district.
In all, 69% of voters supported the measure, passing it by a margin of more than two-to-one.
Also on the ballot was a millage proposal that would provide more than $40 million in operating revenues to the district. It passed by a similar margin.
The $550 million approved by the community will have. major impact on the district, it's students, and teachers.
It will be used to buy new school buses, overhaul the athletic fields and upgrade 40 buildings in the district by amping up security. A new camera system will be installed as well, limiting entry points and installing shatter-proof glass.
Phil Edmunds, who has a son in the district, said security helped get his vote.
"I was happy to support the millage, especially the security measures. I was eager to vote for that with everything that's going on. I want to make sure kids are safe," he said.
"Safety is number one but overall upgrades to almost every aspect, academics, the arts and athletics," Henry Ford II High School Principal Lori Singleton said.
An added bonus for people in the Utica district: The proposal will not raise their taxes.
