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Macomb School District Hoping for State Money for New Middle School

Rich Egger
Middle and high school students in Macomb currently attend classes in the same building.

Macomb School Superintendent Patrick Twomey said the state's new capital bill includes matching grant funding for school construction and maintenance projects. He hopes to take advantage of that grant funding to reduce the district’s financial burden for building a new middle school, which will cost an estimated $19 million.

“It would give a tremendous boost to the entire community if we could write the grant in such a way that it is approved,” said Dr. Twomey.

The school district planned to pay for construction with revenue generated by the county-wide one-cent sales tax for schools.  Twomey said it would “really stretch those dollars” if the district paid for the middle school on its own.

He said the state has not yet started accepting the grant applications.  But when it does, it will be interested in shovel-ready projects.

“When they say shovel-ready, they mean that you already own the property and that you have architectural plans in place that are at least 60% completed,” said Twomey.

“Our plans are not done yet but we’ll be in that place where we can call ourselves shovel-ready by the time the application is due.”

Currently, junior and senior high school students in Macomb share a building. The new school will be built just south of that campus on a nine-acre site the district bought from Maple Avenue Christian Church for $160,000.

Rich is TSPR's News Director.