{"id":2481,"date":"2019-10-12T00:55:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T21:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=2481"},"modified":"2019-10-12T01:08:56","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T22:08:56","slug":"melvindale-northern-allen-park-schools-seek-approval-for-baker-purchase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/melvindale-northern-allen-park-schools-seek-approval-for-baker-purchase\/","title":{"rendered":"Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Schools Seek Approval for Baker Purchase"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Simon Albaugh – YAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Melvindale-Northern Allen Park School District is asking parents to vote on the November 5 Ballot on a district improvement that would acquire the Baker College Campus at 4500 Outer Drive in Allen Park. The College Campus would be used for separated Middle and High School buildings for the school district.<\/p>\n

Purchasing the building, along with the needed renovations, will cost around $39.8 million. The building itself is going for $7.5 million. The school district says the purchase is necessary because of aging school district buildings that could only be updated and used for a short amount of time.
\nThe district\u2019s purchase would bring a tax increase of about $180 each year for the average household in the school district.
\nSchool district officials held an information session on September 20 to answer questions and concerns about the district\u2019s proposal. During the session, officials stressed that the aging infrastructure of the school district needed a solution.
\nWithout the Baker College Campus, the school district says that parents would be paying for the construction of new buildings and facilities, rather than updating the existing Baker campus.
\n\u201cThe great opportunity is right now,\u201d said President of Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Board of Education James Beri.
\nPart of the improvements will be on enhanced security measures for students, such as secured entranceways for the buildings.
\nThe buildings would also allow for improvements in STEM education, the education in the math and sciences. The school district says that they would not be able to provide the same level of education with their older buildings.
\nImprovements would also be focused on job training and college readiness for students.
\nThe school district says that there would be coordination between the Melvindale and Allen Park Police Departments for response times of 5-10 minutes at most in case of an emergency.
\nAccording to school officials, the most important aspect of the purchase would be its timeliness. Having a building that\u2019s already retrofitted for education would allow the school district to save time in finding a replacement for the school district\u2019s aging facilities.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s already here, and it\u2019s not going to take us five years to get it,\u201d said Dr. Kimberly Soranno, Superintendent of Melvindale-Northern Allen Park School District. \u201cIt\u2019s going to affect students sooner.\u201d
\nOne of Dr. Soranno\u2019s main points is the available resources for students. She says that if they continue working with the resources they have, students may not have some of the educational resources that would keep them competitive in today\u2019s work economy.
\n\u201cOur schools are not equipped with the technology that we need,\u201d Dr. Soranno said. \u201cHere, everything\u2019s already set up. This entire place is already built for technology because they\u2019re training students who are already late in their career. We want to train them now, while they\u2019re in high school.\u201d
\nMalek Saif, a trustee for the Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Board of Education, talked about the alternatives. Specifically, he pointed out the high cost of construction for new buildings.
\n\u201cHow many districts can say that they bought three buildings for $7.5 million?,\u201d Saif said. \u201cMost construction rates are very high, so building a new high school would cost us about $100 million. And that wouldn\u2019t even solve our middle school issue or our kindergarten and first grade issue. This plan allows us to solve all of our problems, and for a very minimal cost.\u201d
\nThe issues Saif is pointing to are the lack of room for many early-education programs like Kindergarten and pre-school. Some classrooms in the lower-level schools are in temporary structures outside the larger school buildings.
\nParents seem to be in general approval for the proposed building. W
\n\u201cI\u2019m all for it,\u201d said Lily, a parent in the school district. \u201cI have someone in elementary school, I have someone in high school now. And someone going through the program here at Baker. I\u2019m all for it because I\u2019ve seen how old the buildings are.\u201d
\nLily said her children would come home exhausted from a building that overheated because the air conditioning wouldn\u2019t work.
\nAt the information session, some parents were critical of the proposal, but not necessarily for or against the proposal. One parent talked about the proposal feeling like there was no plan B. The issues that the school district is facing weren\u2019t properly explored before deciding the Baker College building would solve the necessary improvements.
\nAnother concern is that there is no Plan B, just the fact that our infrastructure in our high school and middle school is so bad and there\u2019s 100% reliance on the bond right now\u201d said Petra, a parent in the school district. \u201cSo if the bond fails, what\u2019s plan B? I would\u2019ve liked to hear that there was some plan in place for the immediate issues.\u201d
\nThe proposal will appear on the ballot for the Nov. 5 votes.<\/p>\n

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