Lansing Schools Plan Calls For Three High Schools

The Lansing School District's school board meeting last night featured a presentation of the district's future. According to the Lansing State Journal, the preliminary plan calls to keep Everett High School open with a focus on Visual and Performing Arts. Sexton High School would also stay open as a Spanish language immersion school and STEM academy. Eastern High School would become a Chinese language immersion school with a focus also on biotechnology. But, Eastern would have a new address, leaving Pennsylvania Avenue for the recently opened Pattengill Middle School.

The current Pattengill building would undergo renovations adding science labs and a new gymnasium. Other upgrades will be done to accommodate tennis courts and baseball fields and an upgrade to soccer and football fields (which confuses the hell out of me as Eastern doesn't have either currently.) In order to house Pattengill Middle School, the former Fairview Elementary will be razed and replaced with a new Pattengill Academy for Kindergarten through eighth grade students. Everett High would have its auditorium, art, and dance studios renovated. Other upgrades at other buildings are also included in the plan.

So, what would it cost? Roughly $112 million. Of course, it's all contingent on whether voters would approve a new millage of 1.5-2.25 mills over 8 years. The plan calls for a vote in February of 2016. As the district looks to raise roughly $120 million in the eight year stretch, residents owning a home of $100,000 value would pay just over $37 more in property taxes, according to LSJ.