Bobb, Detroit school board members to discuss Proposal S at town hall meeting

Robert Bobb

DETROIT — As November’s upcoming election approaches, the Board of Education is sparring with Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb over a ballot measure that seeks to tap $500.5 million in federal stimulus funds to modernize old schools and build new ones.

Bobb, who proposed the Proposal S bond referendum, is scheduled to speak at a town hall meeting sponsored by the 14th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization on Thursday evening to address voter questions on the proposal. Critics of the proposal are concerned that half of the bond is a loan that will cause a tax increase. Some critics don’t believe the district should be building new schools when so many schools are closing as enrollment shrinks.

But Bobb has said that the federal stimulus funds are specifically designated by President Obama for building new schools and renovating existing ones, expenditures aimed at creating jobs in the city. If the stimulus money is not used it will not be available in the future, Bobb has said.

Last week, eight of the nine school board members voted against supporting the proposal, warning that it is misleading.

Board member Otis Mathis is against Proposal S because he believes it is unfair to city residents. “This would be a loan on the backs of Detroit taxpayers who don’t have property tax exemptions with the city or state,” Mathis said in a statement Thursday morning. “The community is being misled that the $246 million of the half billion is free stimulus dollars which is not true.”

Under Proposal S, $246 million — or about half of the proposed bonds — is a no-interest federal loan according to the Detroit Public Schools.

Board member Marie Thornton is one of the most vocal opponents of Proposal S, saying that the proposal could force more people out of their homes due to a hike in property taxes. At local campaign forums she frequently distributes literature that warns against the measure.

Thornton also sponsored a town hall meeting this month to discuss the cons of the bond proposal. She invited Bobb to present his side of the debate but he did not attend.

Bobb has repeatedly assured voters that there will be no tax increase under Proposal S, although some don’t see how.

At a town hall meeting this month one accountant, Greg Frazier, said homeowners will pay more in property taxes. “This half-billion dollar bond includes a $3.82 millage for every $1,000 of taxable property. If your home is worth $50,000, you will be paying $191 a year on top of the money you are still paying on the $1.5 billion bond of 1994 and other school debt,” he said.

Both Bobb and school board members are expected to attend the town hall at the Northwest Activities center at 6:00 p.m. The Board of Education and Bobb are currently involved in lawsuits that have underscored the power struggle between the elected school board and Bobb, who was appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to fix the shaky finances of the public schools.

Proposal S allows 30 years before the $246 million has to be repaid.