Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Dr. Joyce Ellis McNeal, Flint Board of Education president, provided by Dr. McNeal
Leaving an inheritance
If we’re going to do what the Word of God says, the best thing we can do is leave our children’s children an inheritance is what Dr. Joyce Ellis McNeal, Flint Board of Education president, has been saying ahead of the December 17 board meeting.
“He’s not just talking about money,” McNeal added when talking to the Courier. “We’re talking about an educational system for them to leave their children’s children.”
McNeal is among those who are optimistic that the new Flint Community Schools high school for which plans are being made to build will make this dream a reality. She added that Flint Community Schools had done this before.
The school is expected to be more than just a beautiful building – though it is expected to be that, too!
Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson, who recently retired as the superintendent of Oakland Schools and Tracy Davis, who is acting as a board consultant, have been working to ensure the project’s success.
“We’re building a new pubic school for the community,” stated McNeal. “We don’t want it to be misunderstood. It’s not Flint Central, Cultural Center school-none of that. It’s going to be a school for the children for the next generation.”
Leaving previous boards’ decisions behind
Because of major budget cuts, drastically declining enrollment and high maintenance costs associated with a building that had been constructed in 1923, Flint Central High School was closed in 2009 by the Flint Board of Education at the time. It was subjected to vandalism and arson and became a symbol of urban decay.
“Closing schools over the years shows it did not eliminate debt…Closing schools brings down property value, and it put our youth and kids at risk…When you have a new school and renovated school, property value goes up. You can see the self esteem going on. When you look at Brownell and Holmes, it’s a different feel than it was before.”
Partnership and investment
The new school will cost more than $134 million to build. Earlier this month, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation announced a $5.3 million donation to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint “to support planning and development for a new Flint Community Schools high school.” Previously, the Foundation granted $750,000 to FCS “to support community engagement and the first phase of design work.”
“Here’s what people have to understand. The board has two bonds. So, to get a new school, we couldn’t get a bond because they already had two bonds. When I came on board, we were red in operations on both sides of the books, close to about $40 million. We got that debt reduced. We’re in the green. We just owe about $9 million in operation, in the red. So, the question was: ‘How do we come up?’ We did it though partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, and I can tell you, it’s been a beautiful ride to see how we did that. We have done workshops, going to different districts talking about building relationships and partnerships because there’s no more money at the bank. You can’t get bonds.”
McNeal stated that there is nothing wrong with having new and rebuilt schools in urban districts, as there are in the suburbs. She shared the Board has been and will continue to work with its consultants around increasing enrollment. She also added that research has shown that children are not necessarily doing better academically when been bused to the numerous charter schools in the local area.
“So, hopefully, this leadership scale this board is doing inspires everyone to look at their leadership to see if it’s based on politic, or if it’s working for the greater good of the community and these children.”
Major decisions made
A schematic design of the upcoming campus will include new athletic fields and “maintains a signature historical element.” It was among four possibilities presented to the Board for a vote.
Treasurer Dylan Luna pointed out there had been another design scenario that would have preserved more of the current Central structure.
“The one I choose is I closed my eyes, and I put the family and the children in front of me,” shared McNeal. “The decision was based on looking and hearing from families and hearing from our youth on what they would like to walk into. My vote was I heard what the people said-we save some parts of it. But, at the same time, schools are designed for the children. We have to make it attractive for children. It’s OK to have SOME of the past. It’s historical. But, the children are not in the past. They’re in the future.”
The Board has approved a construction manager-agency (CM-A) method for the project, which was also utilized during the construction of The Cube at the Brownell-Holmes campus. In this process, the construction manager acts as the owner’s advocate by providing expertise in design review, cost estimating, scheduling and construction oversight. The construction manager is also expected to assume the financial and performance risk of subcontractors and offer cost-saving insights early in the design phase, along with assuming other responsibilities.
The board then voted unanimously to adopt the “open bids” process for hiring of remaining contractors and subcontractors. This is a more a more time-consuming but also more transparent process.
The upgraded campus is expected to open to students in the fall of 2028.
