Schools

Need to Know: Ferndale School Bond Ballot Language, Choices

Find out what to expect when you head to the polls tomorrow.

Headed to the polls on Tuesday? If so, there are a few things you should know about voting in this year's Michigan presidential primary.

State law calls for separate ballots to be printed for Republican candidates and Democratic candidates — the same was done in the January 2008 primary.

When you arrive to vote, you must choose which type of ballot you would like by filling out an Application to Vote. Check out the photos here to see what this form will look like.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ferndale voters will also have the option of choosing a ballot that contains only the school bond proposal. Photos of all three ballots are shown in the gallery attached to this article.

According to the Ferndale City Clerk's office, residents should remember these things when choosing a ballot:

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • You do not need to be a member of a political party to vote in the election.
  • By making a ballot selection, you are not joining a party. You are only declaring which primary you would like to vote in for this election.
  • If you do not make a selection, you will not be given a ballot.
  • You cannot request both ballots.
  • Election law requires that information about which ballot a voter chooses be made available to the public for 22 months following the election. At the end of the 22 months, the information will be destroyed.

Bond proposal ballot language

Interested in how the school bond proposal will read? Here's the exact language:

Ferndale Public Schools
School Building and Site Bond Proposal

Shall the Ferndale Public Schools, County of Oakland, State of Michigan borrow the sum of not to exceed Twenty-Two Million Eight Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand and 00/100 ($22,825,000) Dollars and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds therefor, for a period of not to exceed thirty (30) years, for the purpose of defraying the costs of:

remodeling, equipping and reequipping, furnishing and refurnishing school buildings or parts of those facilities, including mechanical upgrades; asbestos removal; additional lighting; improvements to the high school auditorium and stage, and to the pools; and safety and security upgrades;

preparing, developing and improving school sites, or parts of or additions to sites, including parking lots and drives, playgrounds, structures, or other facilities;

acquiring and installing technology and equipping or reequipping school buildings for technology. including instaltion of technology infrastructure and upgrading existing hardware?

The estimated millage that will be levied for the proposed bonds in the first year that the levy is authorized Is zero (0.00) mills, and the estimaled simple average annual millage that will be required to retire the debt over the term of the bonds is approximately Four and 52/100 (4.52) mills. It is not expected that the School District will be required to levy more than the seven (7) mills for debt retirement purposes that it currently levies but the amount of the tax levy may decrease more slowly and/or be levied for a longer period of time as a result of the issuance of these bonds. If the School District borrows from the State to pay debt service on the bonds of this issue, the School District may be required to continUe to levy mills beyond term of the bonds to repay the State.

(UNDER STATE LAW, BOND PROCEEDS MAY NOT BE USED TO PAY TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR SALARIES, ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR COSTS OR OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATING EXPENSES.)

Where to vote

Find information about your polling location . For more information, contact the Ferndale City Clerk's Office at or call 248-546-2384. You can also visit the Michigan Voter Information Center, the state's official voter registration site.


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