(STURGIS) - Sturgis Public Schools are not planning on bringing a millage proposal to the voters in May 2027.
During Monday's meeting, the Sturgis Board of Education was set to discus the possibility of hiring one of two companies that would have worked with the School District to identify why the millage proposal failed in May, and look at ways to present it again to the voters in May 2027.
Betsy Drumm shared that she feels the Board and School District are under a huge microscope as far as spending. She says while people aren't coming to School Board meetings to speak, there is a Facebook storm of comments. Drumm says instead of hiring a company to collect data on the failed millage, she would like to have the Board try putting out a survey to collect data.
Drumm made a motion to that effect. Several minutes of discussion followed with the Board asking how to do a survey, who they would send that to, and how long would it be available to the public.
Sturgis Schools Superintendent Dr. Art Ebert then made the following suggestion. Ebert says that a pause for the School District right now is best. He says they shouldn't worry about bringing a proposal in May 2027. Ebert says there are needs, but Sturgis Schools should take a pause, and when the Board feels they are ready and the projects and time is right, and it matches what the community wants, whether it's a millage increase, decrease or renewal it won't matter. (LISTEN ABOVE).
Ebert suggested using the August newsletter as a way to share this information with the public and get feedback on what they would possibly support in the future