Marquette Area Public Schools board reviews $59.995M bond proposal, schedules town halls

Marquette Area Public Schools Board of Education members heard details on a proposed $59,995,000 bond during their Feb. 16 regular meeting, including priorities for safety, infrastructure and educational programming and a preliminary estimate that the bond would carry about a 1.55-mill net increase over the district's 2025 debt levy. Brigette Joyce, LEED Green Associate and Miron Construction business development specialist, presented the district's communications plan and project scope materials.

Joyce summarized project work planned across Multiple buildings and showed preliminary site plans for Marquette Senior High School and Bothwell Middle School. She said the communications goals were "to mobilize, energize, and emphasize," and explained legal guidance limiting district advocacy while allowing neutral public information. The material presented lists classroom, CTE, music, locker-room and ADA improvements, natatorium and gym work at the high school, a partial remodel of Bothwell's second floor and other building-specific upgrades. The presentation included an estimate of tax impact (sample: about $155 annually, or $12.92 monthly, on $100,000 of taxable value) and noted assumptions and that interest rates and final tax figures will be determined at sale.

Superintendent Zack Sedgwick and trustees asked technical questions about the timing of mailers and about the location and square footage of the planned Bothwell addition. The board publicized two Bond Town Halls—March 2 at Bothwell Middle School and March 3 at Marquette Senior High School—and reminded residents the bond election is scheduled for May 5, 2026. "Every building and every student will be impacted," the presentation materials stated, and the district encouraged residents to visit the MAPS website for more information and to attend a town hall.