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Dear DCS Families:

While it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, we need to recognize that the holidays often increase anxiety, loneliness, and financial pressure. For those struggling with loss, there is a profound feeling of sadness and emptiness.

In our latest episode of the Davison Download podcast, we sit down with Amy Chorley, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services and Carrie Chanter, Director of Prevention, Health and Wellness for Genesee Health System (GHS)

Learn more about how DCS has partnered with GHS to offer programs to students and families to assist with mental health needs as well as provide training for suicide prevention programs and facilitate student support groups for anger management, life skills and smoking cessation.

Watch (Video):

https://youtu.be/Ft2UBM8OU-4

Listen (Audio):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HTiSEmWLB2j3fNEXXd8PYFWprn3_3UxD/view?usp=sharing

Also, we put together a list of resources (see flyer below) in case your student or other family member needs any assistance during winter break.

On a normal school day, the amount of trash collected during lunches at Gates and Central Elementary buildings filled anywhere from 16 to 20-plus bags from each school. These days, it takes two to four bags to collect the lunchroom trash at each building.

What's different? Both schools have begun composting programs.

"By collecting four 64-gallon bins of compostable material each week — at approximately 275 lbs. per bin — we divert 1,100 lbs. of waste per week per building, totaling 48,400 lbs. (24.2 tons) annually," computed James Emmerling, the district's Science and Health Coordinator. "This effort has a measurable environmental impact: by keeping organic material out of landfills, we prevent an estimated 44,528 lbs. of CO₂e from entering the atmosphere each year. In doing so, students do more than understand sustainability—they contribute directly to climate mitigation."

In this week's Chirp Sheet we highlight the pilot composting programs at Central and Gates Elementary buildings where students and staff are diverting about 1,100 pounds of waste per week - per building - from entering the landfills and atmosphere. We also check out an annual tradition in Mrs. Katie Davis' Spanish IV class, get an update on how the Vex Robotics teams did at last weekend's competition and discover an impressive list of students who qualified for the P2 (Positivity Plus) award for the month of September at Hahn Intermediate. We also share details about how our PreK for All (GSRP) program is expanding - and how to enroll - as well as share information about tryouts for the new Unified Basketball team and where to sign up for DCER's co-ed youth volleyball program.

https://secure.smore.com/n/szgja8 

Davison Community Schools will be seeking a renewal of the Building Site and Sinking Fund on the Tuesday, November 4, General Election ballot. You can read the official ballot language at the end of this post.

As we communicated following the defeat of the May 6 building and site sinking fund proposal, we pledged that we would work harder to communicate and increase awareness as well as clarify the ballot language. If you remember, we were required by law to use the word “increase” instead of “renewal” in the May ballot language because the proposal would have expanded the allowable uses of the existing Building and Site Sinking Fund to include transportation, security and technology - all areas previously restricted under state law. In our efforts to clarify the ballot language, we have decided to remove transportation, security and technology from the language. The ballot will now read as a renewal, which hopefully clears up any confusion that may have occurred with the May ballot.

For Michigan school districts, a sinking fund is a millage-approved property tax levy that provides funding for capital projects without requiring the district to take on debt through bonds. These funds can be used for things like:

• Renovations and remodeling of existing facilities
• Roof repairs or replacements
• HVAC system, plumbing, and electrical upgrades
• Security enhancements
• Parking lot repaving
• Technology infrastructure improvements

There has been a Building and Site Sinking Fund in place for Davison Community Schools since 1996. The fund has generated approximately $1.4 million each year. We know and appreciate that our community takes a lot of pride in its school buildings and facilities. So do we and we do not take that responsibility lightly. We really do put a lot of thought and care into what projects are selected (looking at immediate and future needs) for the upkeep and improvement of the facilities the community has entrusted into our care. Granted, sometimes an emergency repair (or a historic hail storm) gets us off track, but the thought and work that goes into our facility repairs/project list helps guide us and keeps us moving forward.

If you are interested in what we have identified as immediate and future (within 10 years) needs or would like to see what projects have been paid for with sinking fund dollars in the past, you can do so by beginning at slide #39 in presentation linked below. You can also find the answers to other questions you may have regarding sinking funds vs bonds, how both are audited each year, a complete list of what projects have been completed or are in the process of completion (with both the 2020 Bond and within the past 10 years of the Sinking Fund) and summaries of vendors and expenses for both the 2020 Bond and the Sinking Fund. All of this information was shared during a presentation at the June 2, 2025, Board of Education meeting and in the June edition of Board Briefs as part of our efforts to be transparent and address inaccurate information that was being shared at the time of the May election.

We wanted to begin our efforts to communicate the November 4 Building and Site Sinking Fund ballot immediately. We want to give voters enough time to consider the proposal as well as ask questions or reach out to us for more information. Please feel free to contact us or email your questions at 2025sinkingfund@davisonschools.org.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

DCS Building and Site Sinking Fund Presentation

Davison High School First Day Try-Out Schedule for Fall 2025 Athletics.

Athletes cannot try out without a yellow "all clear" card.

The Chirp Sheet is a weekly publication highlighting the accomplishments of students, staff and the district. The online publication is emailed out to parents and those signed up to receive notifications on Fridays throughout the school year. Click on the link below to read the most recent Chirp Sheet or discover our archive of publications.

The Chirp Sheet

The school district provides pencils, paper, crayons, scissors, glue and all necessary supplies for students along with all textbooks, weekly magazines and science supplies so it is not necessary for you to provide school supply items. However, we know that many of our students (and their parents!) enjoy purchasing new school supplies so we have compiled the following suggested lists.