BOND AND CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE
Swartz Creek Community Schools had not passed a school construction bond in 50 years before I began as superintendent. In that time, the community had voted down three previous attempts at passing millages to upgrade and improve the physical facilities. Due to the previously unsuccessful bond proposals, our team spent time learning what the community needed and worked closely with our board of education to get a vision for what the district needed. We then planned a comprehensive bond program, which led to the largest bond in school history and one of the largest successful millages in the State of Michigan (based on millage rate change) in the last five years. Since then, I have worked closely with our partners in design and construction, as well as our board of education, to ensure that we deliver to our community exactly what they expect on time and on budget.
BOND 2019 and Beyond
NCSD has the challenge of managing the vast complexity of wrapping up a $185 million dollar bond program in addition to managing a Sinking Fund that carries a .4731-mill levy through 2030. As a superintendent, I have had significant experience in this area. Moving into the future, Novi will need a leader who can come alongside the board of education and understand how to balance and engage capital project spending and financing with all other school funding sources. This will be critical to continuing to update and provide state of the art facilities for the students and the Novi community.
PLANNING
Successful bond programs begin with appropriate planning. As the leader of the bond planning process, I oversaw professional facility studies, community engagement surveys, school board bond workshops, selection of construction managers and architects, and worked with the Michigan Treasury Department. The bond campaign and strategy that we have developed in my current district has delivered the largest single infusion of capital for district assets in school history.
OVERSIGHT
Passing a bond is important, but delivering the community what was promised is the top priority. This takes significant and dedicated effort from the superintendent. I have ensured that plans match the board and community expectations, projects meet legal requirements for bidding and post-bid requirements, contractors deliver the services the district are entitled to, and projects are delivered on-time and within budget. Much energy has been dedicated to bond oversight, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished.