11/02/2021
To those who view this page, we want to share some thought-provoking comments expressed by Pentwater resident Mark Shotwell on his page yesterday, Nov. 1:
"First and foremost - VOTE tomorrow, November 2. No matter your views, the most powerful way to express them is to go and VOTE.
"Amy and I will both be voting YES on the bond proposal for the Pentwater Public School (and Community) Bond.
"Amy and I moved to Pentwater in 2011 to give Aiden, now a senior at Pentwater school, a great educational opportunity. Where else can you get a GREAT teacher to student ratio (14:1) (compared with Hart (20:1), Ludington (19:1), Shelby (23:1)), as well as such an amazing community to be in.
"Pentwater School ranks high academically across the state while other local schools do not fair as well. It boggles my mind when I hear other respected individuals say - "Just send the students to the other local schools". Those schools are already over crowded and that would be a disservice to the students at Pentwater.
"The teachers and staff at Pentwater have enabled Aiden to have a successful experience and I think it is our duty as residents to give other students the same opportunities. With the new bond, my family will personally not benefit from another child being able to experience life at Pentwater School, but I am so willing and happy to pay a little more taxes to give the students at Pentwater an even more amazing experience. I know I cannot teach, I have limited time to volunteer, but I can certainly open my wallet a little to give our school a chance.
"As with many rural communities, Pentwater Public School is the heart of the community. Without the school Amy and I would never have relocated here from California. Without the school, there is zero chance of getting other families to relocate here. Right now we have a high percentage of retirees and they are awesome for the community from a volunteer and community support aspect. Unfortunately a lot of retirees leave for the winter and we do not have nearly the volunteer support to help with activities like Robotics, or other mentor driven programs. If we had a higher ratio of younger families than Pentwater can continue to remain a vibrant community with a downtown supported with local spending through out the year. For example, we grab a coffee at Isaac's at least 2-3 times per week, not because we cannot make coffee at home, but because we want to support the local businesses.
"I hear random complaints that there is no work in Pentwater for families or that housing is not affordable. I, like others in the community, work from home and it is what enabled us to move to Pentwater in the first place. We know there is not much in the way of local work but remote working is big now and it is going to stay that way.
"Housing in Pentwater village may seem expensive to housing in the outlying areas, but it is not expensive compared to other suburban areas where families may relocate from.
"Imagine the advertising Pentwater Village/Township could do if we could say "Bring your family to Pentwater Public School where we have an amazing teaching staff, well equipped athletic facilities, an awesome auditorium for music and arts, and a school that continues to out perform the other districts academically"
"We can get a great addition/improvement to our school and community at a very low personal cost - Why would you not want to do that?
"Some other thoughts. It has been stated that Pentwater School took out a bond in 2014. That is true but this bond was for installing energy saving lights in the building and is paid for by the savings generated by those fixtures. Tax payers are not paying for that bond.
"An individual or two have gone at great lengths to state how expensive this bond is. The bond cost is often broken out into a "cost per student" which is then compared to something like Shelby's recent bond ($33M, which is for a single building and some renovations), or Ludington's recent bond ($100M, which is for an elementary building and some renovations). By comparison Pentwater bond is $24M to improve the building, build a new gym (very needed), a new track (so very needed), as well as an auditorium (which is something the community has asked for in recent years).
"With the passing of this bond, Pentwater School would spend more per student versus local districts. However, those students already out perform most Michigan districts, including local districts, and this would only improve with additional facilities.
"What also is not mentioned is the overall financial picture of each district. Even with this bond added to the overall debt Pentwater School has, it will still be lower than all local districts except Walkerville. Pentwater Public School has done an excellent job in spending its monies over the years and now it is time to spend some and improve the school."
