There were three issues on the ballot in Clinton County Tuesday night in DeWitt, Bath Township and in the Clinton County portion of the Grand Ledge school district.
In the DeWitt school district, a $66 million school bond proposal passed by more than 1,400 votes. Superintendent of DeWitt Public Schools Shanna Spickard said she is "relieved."
"I've always heard that it's a supportive community, and I've talked about my discovery interviews and that's the number one thing that comes up, and sometimes I think when you're in the middle of controversy it's hard to tell how supportive things are," Spickard said.
The controversy Spickard is referring to is the recent lawsuit filed against DeWitt Public Schools by DeWitt parent and attorney Adam Holland. Holland sued the district after his child was disciplined for lowering his mask below his nose, or as his teacher wrote in an email, "for this unsafe and disrespectful behavior."
Holland is challenging the district's ability to unilaterally require masks without a vote from the school board or parent and community input.
Spickard said the community's support for the bond "shows that people really care about the schools and the students and want to continue that excellence that DeWitt is known for...we're just really grateful. Now it's time to dig-in and get some work done."
The Bath community also voted overwhelmingly to renew the Bath Township Public Library millage for 10 more years.
"This library was a center in 2013 and it was funded by the township, and the township said they could no longer fund it, and so they had a group that got together and asked for a millage for it," Director of Bath Township Public Library Kristina Reynolds said. "If we didn't pass this time, we would be not funded."
It passed by more than 1,400 votes. The first five years brought roughly $1.5 million to the library.
"In that five years, we moved from 2,300 square feet to the 6,300 square feet that we're in now. We've expanded our staff from two members to seven currently," Reynolds said. "Because of COVID, we've had to diversify and go into much more digital learning, so we've added digital resources which are more expensive...We have our quiet adult room."
The library was also able to expand its book budget to keep the collection as current as possible.
"We're going to continue creating programs and bringing in new technology," Reynold said. "We're doing a strategic plan in the spring."
The Grand Ledge Public Schools Sinking Fund Millage Proposal also passed by nearly 500 votes.
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