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P lease join us for the Jewish Community
Center of Metropolitan Detroit's

62ND ANNUAL

Uncertain Outcome

Jewish Book Fair!

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Farmington Public Schools voters
to decide on two bond proposals.

November 6-17, 2013

F

armington Public Schools is
asking voters to consider two
bond proposals when they
head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Proposal 1 is a $154.6 million safety/
infrastructure/technology bond and
addresses safety and security, infra-
structure replacement, classroom
remodeling, instructional technology
tools and the remodeling of media
centers/libraries at all K-12 schools.
Proposal 2 is a $31.6 million arts/ath-
letics/technology replacement bond and
addresses remodeling of high school
auditoriums, replacement of high school
athletic surfaces and replacement of
instructional technology tools.
If voters approve both
proposals, the owner of
an average home in
Farmington, with
a market value of
$119,960, would
pay approxi-
mately $106
more per year.
In Farmington
Hills, with the
average home's
market value at
$154,750, the two bond
proposals would cost an addi-
tional $136 per year.
Proposals 1 and 2 differ from
the Aug. 6 bond proposal that was
rejected by voters. The new proposals
eliminate construction of a new pool
at Harrison High School and the con-
version of the old pool to an auxiliary
gym, upgrades of high school cafete-
rias and commons area, and an addi-
tion to the North Farmington High
School locker room. The new proposal
also reduced the amount of the furni-
ture budget by $4.1 million. The total
of these eliminations/reductions is
$35.8 million.
If Proposal 1 does not pass, infra-
structure improvements, such as
upgrades to electrical, lighting and
HVAC systems, plumbing and roofs,
replacing floors and re-painting as
well as improvements required for
code compliance and safety, and
repaving parking lots, will need to be
made with dollars from the general
fund, directly impacting classroom
funding. Proposal 1 must pass in order
for Proposal 2 to be implemented.
Proposal 2 includes the remodeling
of district high school auditoriums
to support round-the-clock use by
students for vocal and musical con-

( With more than 50 outstanding authors
and events, including:

pe

Opening Night, with CNN correspondent

Jeffrey Toobin

Patron Night, featuring artist

Peter Max

Closing Night, with entertainer

Michael Feinstein

4

• Florine Mark of Weight Watchers
• Oak Park Reunion Day!
• Food Network insider Allen Salkin, author of From Scratch
• Spotlight on Business, with Zingerman's CEO Ari Weinzweig
• Comedy Night!
• Bubbies, Bagels and Books
• Annual Book Club Night, presenting Wine, Cheese and
Good Conversation with Elizabeth L. Silver
• Luncheon with Letty Cottin Pogrebin
• A Day of Jewish Learning
• Tea and Fiction, with Jillian Cantor and Jessica Soffer
1
• Tasting program with Kim Kushner, author of
The Modern Menu
• Kristallnacht Day of Remembrance
• Lunch and presentation by Jane Weitzman,
of Stuart Weitzman Shoes
• Health Awareness Day
• Children's Tea, with author Amy Meltzer
• And much more!

For a complete schedule, please visit

www.jccdetorg/bookfair

THE CENTER
JEWISH BOOK FAIR

Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit

D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Road
West Bloomfield, MI 48322

Jimmy Prentis Morris Building
A. Alfred Taubman
Jewish Community Campus
15110 W. Ten Mile Road
Oak Park, MI 48237

1868850

12 October 31 • 2013

certs, large school assemblies, theater
productions and community activities,
among other improvements.
The bond proposals face vocal
opposition from some community
members. The district's requests are
"unjustified and expensive," according
to Sue Burstein-Kahn, who formed
Farmington Kids 1st and is the trea-
surer of the ballot committee. "This
bond request is rife with ambiguities,
excesses and unresolved issues. It
should be voted down:' she wrote in
an Observer and Eccentric guest col-
umn Oct. 25. Kahn is married to FPS
board member Murray Kahn.
Farmington Kids 1st sent a
mailer to voters, which
Farmington Public
Schools Superintendent
Sue Zurvalec and sev-
eral board members
criticized as being
filled with "half-
truths and mis-
truths:'
According to the
mailer, "Not a penny
(of the bond) goes to
educate OUR kids."
Zurvalec disputed this
claim, and several others in the
mailer, in a press release. "First and
foremost, students need safe and
functional schools for learning to take
place. It is a proven fact that you have
to meet basic needs before learning
can occur. When parents send their
children to us, the first concern is if
they are safe. A vast majority of the
bond dollars are about providing safe,
well-functioning places to learn.
"Additionally, a large portion of
dollars goes directly to student tech-
nology tools. And we must remember
... dollars spent on capital needs,
as outlined in these bond propos-
als, allows the district to preserve
operational dollars that can be spent
for teaching and learning. In fact,
I believe they got it backwards in
their postcard ... everything we do is
focused on learning."
Voters who have questions or con-
cerns about the Nov. 5 bond propos-
als can contact the district's commu-
nity relations office at (248) 489-3349
or visit the district's website at www.
farmington.k12.mi.us .
To reach Famington Kids 1st,
which is opposed to the bond, go to
the website www.facebook.com/
farmingtonkidslst.

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