FLUSHING, MI – Flushing Community Schools is moving forward with improvements across the district as it begins to put its $23.5 million bond to use. Voters approved the bond during the May 2024 election. The bond is being levied at 3.18 mills, the same rate previously levied by the district for other facility improvements. “Kids and the community will benefit from every aspect of this project for the next 50 years, really,” Superintendent Matt Shanafelt told MLive-The Flint Journal. Related: Voters approve Flushing, Clio bond proposals for more than $30M in school upgrades Plans for the bond project include safety and security improvements, athletic facility upgrades, new instructional technology, elementary playground improvements, HVAC upgrades, and improvements to the William H. Tunnicliff Auditorium. “There are things that have not been touched or upgraded, many of them in the last 50 years, and it’ll bring every aspect of their school experience into the 21st century and where it belongs,” Shanafelt said. In total, the bond project is expected to take about three years to complete. “Even if it takes a little longer than planned or than expected, the patience will be worth it because it’s going to get done,” Shanafelt said. The Flushing Board of Education approved a bid in March from the Wolgast Corporation in the amount of $1,974,151 for the construction of new tennis courts at Flushing High School. “We are going to demolish all 12 tennis courts,” Shanafelt said. “Now it’s going to be all new concrete, all new fencing, everything brand new.” The tennis court project will begin with a groundbreaking ceremony this month, with the work expected to be completed over the summer. “It’ll be nice to see the work really take off,” Shanafelt said. The construction of new tennis courts is just one of several athletic facility upgrades including in the bond project. The district also plans to renovate all its outdoor athletic fields and build a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Flushing High School. The stadium will feature artificial turf, a track, restrooms, concessions, and locker rooms. “We look forward to having soccer there, lacrosse there, marching band competitions, football, and it just being really a great multi-purpose field for a lot of people to use,” Shanafelt said. The stadium will be built on two-thirds of an acre the district previously purchased from Flushing Presbyterian Church, which is located next to the district’s high school. This additional property will allow the district to add more parking spaces in the area. “We have really spent a lot of time on the design of that,” Shanafelt said of the stadium. It’s still unclear exactly how much the stadium will cost, but preliminary estimates for the project are around $10 million. The district also plans to remodel its softball and baseball fields. “We remain hopeful that we’re going to be able to turf our varsity baseball and varsity softball fields as well, which will be great playing surface for our kids and cut down on the maintenance that’s needed,” Shanafelt said. During the same March meeting in which the bid for the tennis courts was accepted, the school board approved $51,956 for the installation of new security cameras at district properties by Essential Electric. Safety and security improvements are already underway as the district updates its door entry system, adds security cameras to its properties, replaces about 30 secondary entrances, and installs ballistic film at several entrances. “A lot of our entryways are certainly showing their age,” Shanafelt said. “We want to do whatever we can to keep our kids safe.” “Anything that has the ability to open with a keypad or a fob was upgraded.” The district has already installed more than 50 cameras this school year. “We’ve got a fairly extensive security camera system, but some of those cameras are old,” Shanafelt said. “We have probably about 240 cameras, but we’re looking to add, 50 plus a year. “We want as close to 100% coverage around the outside of our buildings as we can.” The district’s plans to improve the playgrounds at its four elementary schools include adding new asphalt and more than 50 new basketball poles and hoops. These improvements are scheduled for this summer. “They’re going to grind it down and resurface every hard plane surface, which is going to be phenomenal,” Shanafelt said. Shanafelt noted asphalt at the playgrounds hasn’t been updated in about 50 years, and the basketball hoops have been at the district’s elementary schools between 30 and 40 years. In preparation for future educational technology purchases, the district is currently conducting a pilot program to help it determine how technology like this could benefit students. “We look forward to that pilot continuing into next year and really through next year before we make a major purchase,” Shanafelt said. The district purchased a total of 17 smart boards for the pilot program, with each of them costing approximately $2,000, Shanafelt said. “We wanted to start slow and make sure we’re spending our money wisely and that we’re really doing our research on the latest and greatest technology,” he said. Next year, the district plans to introduce virtual reality to its students for another pilot program. “We look forward to having kids doing dissections, you know or using them or virtual field trips,” Shanafelt said. “I think the possibilities are endless with virtual reality.” Among the planned improvements for the district’s auditorium are new lights, a new sound system, new carpet, and improvements to its existing stage. “It was built about 25 years ago,” Shanafelt said. “It’s a wonderful place to watch a show and certainly for us to show off our talented kids, but the stage is original. It needs an upgrade.” Work on the auditorium, which is located on the district’s high school campus, is expected to begin at the end of the next school year and continue into that summer. Additionally, the district is using funds from the 2024 bond to continue improving its HVAC system that weren’t covered by the district’s previous bond which was approved by voters in 2017. The 2017 bond project included adding air conditioning to more than 200 classrooms, installing new windows, and the construction of Raider Fieldhouse on Flushing High School’s campus. “We’ve gotten incredible support from the community,” Shanafelt said. “We’re grateful for that.” Upcoming HVAC improvements include installing air conditioning systems in the district’s gyms and cafeterias. Additional information about the district’s 2024 bond, including renderings of planned improvements, are available on the Flushing Community Schools website. Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Flint” daily newsletter.