Spectators at Zeeland Stadium watch a freshman football game on Oct. 23. Next Tuesday’s bond issue would pay for improvements to the stadium that was built in the mid-1980s, including new bleachers.
(Ed. Note: This is the second in a two-part series on the Nov. 4 bond issue for Zeeland Public Schools. The first story appeared in the Oct. 23 edition of the Zeeland Record.)
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Voters in the Zeeland Public Schools district go to the polls next Tuesday to decide on a $186.4 million bond issue.
While it is the largest bond issue in ZPS history, the proposal would not increase the district’s debt service millage, which currently stands at 7.45 mills, or $7.45 per $1,000 of taxable value.
“Over the past 30 years, as Zeeland has grown, we have had to keep pace with new buildings and additions,” ZPS Superintendent Rod Hetherton said. “This bond enables us to improve all the facilities in the district, including school buildings and operational buildings. Many areas need new mechanical, hardware, and lighting, as well as technological and interior updates. This improvement will enhance all playgrounds, both auditoriums, all classroom buildings, maintenance and transportation, as well as the stadium.”
The new bond issue comes a little more than four years after district voters passed a $75 million proposal that had been scaled back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bond issue would expand and renovate Creekside Middle School, including adding four new classrooms to the north of the sixth-grade wing, while repurposing other learning spaces to create a total net gain of six classrooms once the project is completed. The improvements would allow students who currently attend classes in portable classrooms on the north side of the Creekside campus to be in the main building, Hetherton said.
The bond issue would also upgrade all of the district’s elementary schools, with particular attention paid to its older buildings – Lincoln, New Groningen and Roosevelt.
In addition, the bond proposal would pay for improvements to district athletic and performing arts facilities. For example, it would upgrade Zeeland Stadium to include new bleachers that would no longer be built into the side of a hill, allowing for more seating and better sightlines for handicapped seating.
“There are cracks in the concrete. The locker rooms, restrooms, and concession stands are all in rough shape,” ZPS Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Jon Voss said. “While they are fine now, the bleachers are slowly sinking into the ground as the hill erodes and will eventually have to be replaced.”
The main entrance to Zeeland Stadium would also be widened to allow for easier and safer flow of spectators into and out of the stadium, and adds a two-sided press box on the visitors side of the stadium, with one side facing the main field and the other facing the practice field to the east, which is used by the Zeeland Recreation Rocket football program on Saturdays, Voss said.
Zeeland Stadium was built in 1985-86, and was dedicated on Aug. 21, 1986, ZPS spokeswoman Brandy Navetta said.
The DeWitt Auditorium at Zeeland East High School and Lokers Auditorium at Cityside Middle School are also in line for significant improvements under the bond proposal, Voss said.
“Both of these facilities are more than 30 years old and are starting to show their age,” Voss said. “Both need a facelift and will see improvements in everything from carpets to seat covers, to curtains, the stage, lighting, and more. We need to update the technology in both spaces to support the performances of our talented students.
“Finally, with Lokers Auditorium, there is minimal backstage space. When our students perform there, they do not have the space they need for dressing rooms, storage, set building, and the like. There is no way for someone backstage to cross from one side of the stage to the other without being seen, which creates a challenge in some performances.”
If approved, the bond issue would allow for relocating the choir room, currently south of the backstage area, allowing the backstage space to expand. The choir room would be relocated to the southeast side of the building, in the green space near the entrance by the pool, Voss said.
The bond issue would also create a large multi-use building to be built on the site of the current Zeeland West soccer field that would include turf and an indoor track, as well as a portable floor that could be used for dance or other large group activities. It also would create shared space at West for the school’s robotics program and the new public safety course.
In addition, the bond issue would pay for new, updated spaces for ZPS’ transportation and maintenance departments, purchasing new school buses, upgrading technology equipment and parking improvements at Roosevelt and at Z-Quest, district officials said.
The projects that will be covered by the bond issue would begin in 2027 and be completed by 2035, district officials said.
For more information on the bond issue, including project timelines, visit zps.org/bond-2025.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Voters in the Zeeland Public Schools district go to the polls next Tuesday to decide on a $186.4 million bond issue.
While it is the largest bond issue in ZPS history, the proposal would not increase the district’s debt service millage, which currently stands at 7.45 mills, or $7.45 per $1,000 of taxable value.
“Over the past 30 years, as Zeeland has grown, we have had to keep pace with new buildings and additions,” ZPS Superintendent Rod Hetherton said. “This bond enables us to improve all the facilities in the district, including school buildings and operational buildings. Many areas need new mechanical, hardware, and lighting, as well as technological and interior updates. This improvement will enhance all playgrounds, both auditoriums, all classroom buildings, maintenance and transportation, as well as the stadium.”
The new bond issue comes a little more than four years after district voters passed a $75 million proposal that had been scaled back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bond issue would expand and renovate Creekside Middle School, including adding four new classrooms to the north of the sixth-grade wing, while repurposing other learning spaces to create a total net gain of six classrooms once the project is completed. The improvements would allow students who currently attend classes in portable classrooms on the north side of the Creekside campus to be in the main building, Hetherton said.
The bond issue would also upgrade all of the district’s elementary schools, with particular attention paid to its older buildings – Lincoln, New Groningen and Roosevelt.
In addition, the bond proposal would pay for improvements to district athletic and performing arts facilities. For example, it would upgrade Zeeland Stadium to include new bleachers that would no longer be built into the side of a hill, allowing for more seating and better sightlines for handicapped seating.
“There are cracks in the concrete. The locker rooms, restrooms, and concession stands are all in rough shape,” ZPS Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Jon Voss said. “While they are fine now, the bleachers are slowly sinking into the ground as the hill erodes and will eventually have to be replaced.”
The main entrance to Zeeland Stadium would also be widened to allow for easier and safer flow of spectators into and out of the stadium, and adds a two-sided press box on the visitors side of the stadium, with one side facing the main field and the other facing the practice field to the east, which is used by the Zeeland Recreation Rocket football program on Saturdays, Voss said.
Zeeland Stadium was built in 1985-86, and was dedicated on Aug. 21, 1986, ZPS spokeswoman Brandy Navetta said.
The DeWitt Auditorium at Zeeland East High School and Lokers Auditorium at Cityside Middle School are also in line for significant improvements under the bond proposal, Voss said.
“Both of these facilities are more than 30 years old and are starting to show their age,” Voss said. “Both need a facelift and will see improvements in everything from carpets to seat covers, to curtains, the stage, lighting, and more. We need to update the technology in both spaces to support the performances of our talented students.
“Finally, with Lokers Auditorium, there is minimal backstage space. When our students perform there, they do not have the space they need for dressing rooms, storage, set building, and the like. There is no way for someone backstage to cross from one side of the stage to the other without being seen, which creates a challenge in some performances.”
If approved, the bond issue would allow for relocating the choir room, currently south of the backstage area, allowing the backstage space to expand. The choir room would be relocated to the southeast side of the building, in the green space near the entrance by the pool, Voss said.
The bond issue would also create a large multi-use building to be built on the site of the current Zeeland West soccer field that would include turf and an indoor track, as well as a portable floor that could be used for dance or other large group activities. It also would create shared space at West for the school’s robotics program and the new public safety course.
In addition, the bond issue would pay for new, updated spaces for ZPS’ transportation and maintenance departments, purchasing new school buses, upgrading technology equipment and parking improvements at Roosevelt and at Z-Quest, district officials said.
The projects that will be covered by the bond issue would begin in 2027 and be completed by 2035, district officials said.
For more information on the bond issue, including project timelines, visit zps.org/bond-2025.
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