The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Voters reject school millage
Friese, Medley win four-year terms on school board
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2007
When word came shortly before 10 p.m. during the Saline school board meeting Tuesday night that voters appeared to have turned down the district's request for a sinking fund millage, Superintendent Beverley Geltner put her face in her hands.
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The district had hoped to raise close to $745,000 annually over the next 10 years for a range of renovations and repairs, but district voters rejected the proposed 0.47-mill levy nearly 2-to-1 Tuesday.
Of the 2,758 ballots cast, reflecting a turnout of 15 percent among registered voters, 1,474, or 61 percent, went against the sinking fund millage, according to unofficial election results.
Only voters in Pittsfield Township supported the millage. In Saline City precincts and the townships of Bridgewater, Freedom, Lodi, Saline and York voters resoundingly rejected the tax increase.
"I don't think we need (the sinking fund)," said Ron Knowlton, a 40-year resident of the district. "They need to take responsibility for their actions and have to look at the check book before spending. They should do like the rest of us do — don't spend it if you don't have it."
Alone in her office in Union School at 11:30 p.m. election night, Deputy Superintendent Nancy Brenton, who spearheaded the sinking fund, said she was disappointed by the results but not surprised.
"I think the community is trying to say something we need to know," she said. "When people vote against something, there could be several factors. I think it's important for us to know not only what the results are, but why they are what they are."
Brenton said she planned to conduct a survey of voters to learn more about their reasons for voting against the millage.
Administrators said the lack of a sinking fund would not likely affect next year's budget, but it could become an issue later.
"We're going to have to start putting money aside for repairs," said Assistant Superintendent of Finance Tom Wall.
District voters named David Friese and David Medley to fill two open seats on the school board. Friese led the six-candidate field with 832 ballots or 20.4 percent of the vote and Medley pulled 18.8 percent or 767 votes.
Sarah Slater followed with 667 votes, with Suzanne Klein close behind with 632 votes. Terry Bertram drew 14.7 percent of the vote with 603 ballots and Dan Krus pulled 566 votes or 13.8 percent.
Both Friese and Medley, who have spent decades in the classroom as teachers, expressed disappointment in the failure of the sinking fund millage.
They are prepared, they said, for difficult financial times ahead.
"In education we've always had lean times and leaner times," Friese said. "There are going to be a lot of tough decisions we'll have to make."
Medley said he took his election as a sign of trust and faith.
"A lot of people think I can do some good and I'll try to live up to those expectations," he said.
Both new board members, who will take their seats the first meeting in July, said they would like to see relations improved between the board and the Saline Education Association.
The SEA presented three grievances to the board Tuesday night and has filed more than a dozen in the past year.
"Grievances are a sign of dissatisfaction and unrest," said Friese, who has served as a union negotiator. "I think many issues were resolved in the past more harmoniously. I'd love to see us get back to a collaborative method of solving issues."
Medley said he sees a breakdown in trust between the board and the union.
"The first thing we have to do is sit down with the superintendent and ask her what she thinks has gone wrong," Medley said. "There doesn't seem to be any trust between the negotiating teams. It's something that needs to be fixed."
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