On March 10th, 2020, voters approved 3-series, $125 million bond to make a significant investment in our educational system. Due to rising property values and expiring debt, this bond was made possible at NO TAX RATE INCREASE to our community.
The classroom structure hasn't changed much in the last 150 years. As the pace of change accelerates, schools are reimagining the spaces where our students learn. Flexible, adaptable spaces prepare students for a future we cannot imagine.
The safety of our students is our top priority. We have identified common sense security updates in all of our buildings to make them all more secure.
Energy efficiency and ensuring our students are "warm and dry" inside of their schools isn't exciting; it's expected. Upcoming repairs and infrastructure improvements will benefit the long term sustainability of our district. This includes expensive items like roofs and boilers. This new funding stream will safeguard your investment into our facilities.
Currently Ferndale Schools leases a portion of our bus fleet. While this allows us to maintain a new fleet with lowered maintenance costs, it is not sustainable long term; because, each year, lease costs must come from the yearly “General Fund”. We will purchase four new buses in each phase (every 3 years: 2020, 2023 & 2026). This will allow us to begin a long-term purchase plan and life cycle for our bus fleet, leading to improved long-term sustainability. It will also result in more annual “General Funds” flowing to the classroom, as they will no longer be needed to pay for bus leases.
In 2020, we purchased 7 new buses
We have allocated $5,000,000 of the new bond funding for classroom tech improvements & integration over the next six years.
Built in the 1950s, Ferndale High School had two full-size pools. This is due to the fact that, when the building was constructed, male and female students had separate swimming classes. Pools are very costly to maintain due to chemical and heating costs. Each pool was costing the district more than $100,000 per year to maintain. By removing a pool, we created significant yearly savings to the district, which have beeb reallocated directly into the classroom. A thorough usage study was conducted to ensure that we would be able to meet the needs of our students with a single pool.
The massive space formerly occupied by the 2nd pool at Ferndale High School is being replaced with a new athletic training facility and fitness center. With our new athletic training facility, Ferndale High School student athletes are able to more-thoroughly prepare for competition, and students at large more fitness opportunities within our curriculum.
Student security is our number one priority! None of our current buildings were designed and constructed in a time when the threat of school violence was as prevalent as it is today. To support our security strategy, Ferndale High School and Middle School are being retrofitted with secure entry points. This offers greater protection for our students, staff, and community.
Each Ferndale classroom is equipped with a unit ventilator. This unit circulates climate controlled, fresh air into our classrooms. Upgrading these units will capture further energy savings on more modern units while creating a more comfortable learning environment for our students.
Maintaining the exterior of a 70 year-old building is costly.We will be continually repairing the entire exterior of the facility to ensure our students are safe, dry, and warm.
The roof of Ferndale High School covers more than 100,000 square feet! Upgrading a roof that size is too costly to do with our limited yearly funds, even with a sinking fund, and thus has to be a bond expense. Due to new building codes, this project takes on a greater scope, as it is not simply a replacement of the existing roof but an upgrade to the overall roofing system.
This community-supported, fully-funded improvement project will also provide significant yearly savings in energy and maintenance costs.
The Ferndale High School and Middle School campus does not have an industrial hot water system. That is because there is not a significant need for hot water within the facility. The current domestic hot water system is past its useful life and is being replaced. This will result in yearly savings in both energy and maintenance costs.
Ferndale High School's electrical system is also being upgraded to better meet the demands of modern technology.
New doorways are being installed to increase security and create energy savings.
Community members have commented that trying to park and find your way into Ferndale High School or Middle School for after-hours sporting events in the winter is a struggle. Many of our community families–as well as those visiting from other schools–have trouble finding a parking place only to be met with a locked door when they attempt to enter. Trying to walk around the entire campus in the dead of winter trying to find an open door is not a great way to treat our community. To alleviate this ongoing challenge, we will be undertaking the construction of a Winter Sports Entry as part of Phase 2. Built near the current elephant steps, this entry will provide easy access to both the FHS and FMS gyms and pool area.
This upgrade will also increase safety in the rest of the building by allowing admission to visitors directly into the athletic wing and allowing us to better regulate access to the rest of the building during these events.
Recently, Ferndale Schools utilized a combination of Sinking Fund and Food Service dollars to update the serving and dining areas of the cafeteria. However, the cooking area was largely unchanged since the buildings construction in the 1950’s. Bond funding is modernizing our food preparation area, creating energy savings and enabling a greater variety of food choices for our students.
All FHS classrooms are being renovated to include new furniture, flooring, heating and cooling systems, technology and more! These modernized learning environment will offer our teachers increased flexibility in their instruction.
The auditorium was recently completely overhauled with a previous Bond initiative. This new funding stream will focusing on the backstage areas to create better dressing rooms and scene construction and storage areas.
Road and parking lot improvements are always necessary in Michigan. Aside from ongoing maintenance, significant investments are being made to improve the long-term integrity of our parking lots.
All FMS classrooms are being renovated and enlarged. This process includes new furniture, flooring, heating and cooling systems, technology and more! This will modernize the learning environment and offer our teachers flexibility in their instruction.
Learning comes from experiences where we are intellectually and emotionally engaged in a topic and then have a chance to apply it to new situations and share it in a meaningful way with others. Truly flexible learning environments have been shown to enhance all of these things by syncing instructional practices, integrating modern technology tools, and optimizing the physical environment in which learning happens.
Flexible furniture does play an important role in optimizing the physical environment. It helps to create a truly flexible classroom in the following ways:
Flexible furniture seeks to integrate student energy into teaching and learning rather than stifling it, which has been demonstrated to have a multiplier effect on deeper learning.
Robotics is both a rapidly growing club as well as an area for future curricular growth. Since robotics came to FHS, it has made due with excess spaces that were not designed for this purpose. This portion of the bond would add a dedicated robotics space that would properly fulfill the needs of our Impi Warriors and allow for future growth of our robotics education initiatives.
A new FHS Band Room would be built to allow space for the drill team. Several worn out instruments would also be replaced.
As part of the 2020 Bond, all classrooms would be renovated, including the art rooms.
The FHS athletic stadium–which houses our football, soccer, and track and field teams–would undergo some improvements, including:
New baseball and softball fields would be installed to correct for current flooding issues and existing wear.
New tennis courts would be installed to replace the well-worn courts we currently have.
Walls & carpets would be restored or replaced as needed.
Learning comes from experiences where we are intellectually and emotionally engaged in a topic and then have a chance to apply it to new situations and share it in a meaningful way with others. Truly flexible learning environments have been shown to enhance all of these things by syncing instructional practices, integrating modern technology tools, and optimizing the physical environment in which learning happens.
Flexible furniture does play an important role in optimizing the physical environment. It helps to create a truly flexible classroom in the following ways:
Flexible furniture seeks to integrate student energy into teaching and learning rather than stifling it, which has been demonstrated to have a multiplier effect on deeper learning.
A Conference Room and a Health Room would be added alongside a Work Room and additional storage.
The playground at UHS would be removed to make room for additional needed parking.
The parking lot would be restructured significantly to ease traffic congestion and accommodate student drivers.
Repairs to the exterior of the building now yield significant yearly savings in energy and maintenance costs.
Portions of the roof at the TCEC were beyond their useful life and were replaced over the summer of 2022.
Two new condensing boilers replaced the old steam boilers at the TCEC, resulting in significant cost savings and emissions reductions for the building.
Each Ferndale classroom is equipped with a unit ventilator. This unit circulates climate controlled, fresh air into our classrooms. The useful life of these units is typically 20 years. This infrastructure upgrade is capturing energy savings from more modern units while creating a more comfortable learning environment for our students.
The Grant building had an outmoded electrical system which was updated in 2022 for better technology innovation and energy savings.
Student security is our number one priority! None of our current buildings were designed and constructed in a time when the threat of school violence was as prevalent as it is today. Ferndale Early Childhood Center has been retrofitted with a secure entry point to provide greater protection of our students, staff, and community members.
The floor of the gym has been replaced with a new rubber material that better fits the current usage of our littlest eagles.
The FECC playground received all new equipment to optimize the limited playground space and add accessible features.
Each classroom in the FECC would have a toilet room added for convenience and safety.
Learning comes from experiences where we are intellectually and emotionally engaged in a topic and then have a chance to apply it to new situations and share it in a meaningful way with others. Truly flexible learning environments have been shown to enhance all of these things by syncing instructional practices, integrating modern technology tools, and optimizing the physical environment in which learning happens.
Flexible furniture does play an important role in optimizing the physical environment. It helps to create a truly flexible classroom in the following ways:
Flexible furniture seeks to integrate student energy into teaching and learning rather than stifling it, which has been demonstrated to have a multiplier effect on deeper learning.
Classroom and hallway interiors have been updated to communicate a Reggio Emilia feel more consistent with our existing curriculum model. Learn more about Reggio Emilia program philosophy here »
Upgrading the roofing system and repairing the exterior of the building could yield significant yearly savings in energy and maintenance costs.
The boiler at the FECC is beyond its useful life and would be replaced.
An electrical update is planned for FECC to replace the aging electrical infrastructure consisting of all new ATS, panels, transformers, and circuits.
Adaptable learning environments need room to grow and change without feeling crowded. New classrooms would be 50% larger, allowing for more space between individual learning pods and other support areas.
Learning comes from experiences where we are intellectually and emotionally engaged in a topic and then have a chance to apply it to new situations and share it in a meaningful way with others. Truly flexible learning environments have been shown to enhance all of these things by syncing instructional practices, integrating modern technology tools, and optimizing the physical environment in which learning happens.
Flexible furniture does play an important role in optimizing the physical environment. It helps to create a truly flexible classroom in the following ways:
Flexible furniture seeks to integrate student energy into teaching and learning rather than stifling it, which has been demonstrated to have a multiplier effect on deeper learning.
New classrooms would allow for an educational space with seamlessly-integrated technology. Previously, technology had not been a major factor in the design of our newly constructed spaces, leading to lost instructional time while transitioning students to a common area where the technology was housed. With this Bond, we would build a new Lower Elementary School with technology fully-integrated into our classroom spaces. This would eliminate inefficiencies in both classroom space and educational time.
The current Lower Elementary School at the Roosevelt building has major infrastructure needs as the building was constructed in the early 1920s. This leads to significant funds being spent each year to keep a nearly 100 year old building operational. By building a new elementary school, we can take advantage of the many technology advancements that have been made over the past century. The more efficient building would save a substantial amount of funds each year in both energy usage and facility maintenance.
Student security is our number one priority! None of our current buildings were designed and constructed in a time when the fear of school violence was as prevalent as it is today. The building entryway has been retrofitted with a secure entry point to better protect our students, staff, and community from potential threats. Several aesthetic improvements were also made, while we were at it.
A new, fully-accessible playground would be added at FUEL that would offer an equitable opportunity for all students to participate in meaningful play, regardless of their ability level. Growth happens organically when you let it. By making play an essential part of every child's education every day, we offer our students the opportunity to explore their imaginations, to connect with other kids, and to stretch and grow physically, emotionally, and socially.
The roof at FUEL was beyond its useful life and has been replaced. The upgraded roofing system is providing significant yearly savings in energy and maintenance costs.
Bathrooms have been updated with high-efficiency fixtures and new materials.
Classrooms have new lighting, ceiling tiles, and flooring. Hallways and lockers have been improved as well, and water bottle filling stations were installed.
Learning comes from experiences where we are intellectually and emotionally engaged in a topic and then have a chance to apply it to new situations and share it in a meaningful way with others. Truly flexible learning environments have been shown to enhance all of these things by syncing instructional practices, integrating modern technology tools, and optimizing the physical environment in which learning happens.
Flexible furniture does play an important role in optimizing the physical environment. It helps to create a truly flexible classroom in the following ways:
Flexible furniture seeks to integrate student energy into teaching and learning rather than stifling it, which has been demonstrated to have a multiplier effect on deeper learning.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math (STEAM) are at the heart of educating a well-rounded learner. A new STEAM lab would be added to provide students a new area to explore these key fields of study.
The roof at the Roosevelt Building is beyond its useful life and would be replaced.
Damage to the masonry at the Roosevelt Building would be repaired to restore the historic building and preserve the community asset.
Additional parking would be added to allow for student drivers in the CASA programs.
As part of the transition, the Roosevelt gym would be updated into a dance studio to be utilized by the CASA students.
CASA is also home to many science and art classes. Some of the current classroom spaces would be updated to meet the needs of the CASA programs.
