From IPR: "Voters kept their wallets closed when it came to funding the construction of a new field house for Pellston Public Schools this week ... According to unofficial results posted on the [Emmet] county’s website, 315 votes were for yes, and 545 votes were for no.
The proposal was also on the ballot for Burt Township in Cheboygan County. It failed with 119 yes votes and 139 no votes, according to unofficial results."
The field house would have doubled as a de facto community rec center. But who knows? Petoskey school officials, for example, said, pre-construction, that the lavish $14 million stadium/running track would, also, be open to the community. In reality, it's always locked when not in use by the students and school staff. No jogging ever encouraged on that track by the public.
So, have local rural voters' appetite for pretentious extracurricular 'stuff,' in tough economic times waned? If so, can't say we blame them for voting 'NO' on another tax increase.
Shortly after posting this negative comment about public schools in general, I ran across the following article online. While one grossly incompetent school district does not necessarily signify that many school districts are grossly incompetent, the evidence keeps piling up that far too many school districts are a disaster. I looked up the budget for this district: $1.8 BILLION! https://www.wdrb.com/news/education/jcps-bus-routes-generated-by-software-with-flawed-track-record-in-another-district/article_448ccd7a-3783-11ee-a2d8-dfef3db3eb07.html
When I was much younger and more naive, I almost always voted for school millage increases. However, now that I am much older, and hopefully somewhat more wise, I view school millage increase requests with more skepticism. We in America spend a huge amount of money on public education, and get very little on our return. School achievement levels across the board throughout our nation are an international embarrassment. The old rule was that the better the product the higher the price. Public education in the USA has largely reversed that. The school boards and the teachers' unions invariably ask for more and more money, and then give us lower and lower achievement levels.