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Michigan School for the Deaf plan could move forward soon; concerns aired during alumni meeting | MLive.com
Michigan School for the Deaf chief administrator David Sanderson said he expects a plan to sell and renovate the MSD campus to go forward as he addressed a crowd of alumni Thursday evening.
Members of the Deaf community offered feedback on the plan and made requests ranging from pushing for a longer lease on a proposed new school to preserving the "upside-down tree" that stands in front of Fay Hall.
Sanderson said he expects a contract to soon be signed between the state, which owns the Miller Road property, and private investor Lurvey White Ventures, which would build a new school and lease it to MSD under the proposal.
The deal could also involve selling the historic Fay Hall to Powers Catholic High School.
Powers officials have not confirmed involvement in the negotiations, but Sanderson said the deal would still go forward even without the private school, which has been looking to move from its Mt. Morris Township location for years and has considered the MSD campus as an option.
Once a contract is signed, Sanderson said, the parties will begin seeking support from the legislature, which will have to approve any transfer of land.
Some in the crowd of about 120 in the Thelma Heck Service Building raised concerns over the future of the school if it no longer owns the land.
Richard Etkie of Waterford, who is deaf and has many family members who have attended MSD, was one of several at the meeting who expressed worry over whether future state funding for the school will be enough to keep paying for a lease.
"My concern is, of course, money," said Etkie. "Hopefully it will be supported. We don't know what's going to happen."
Jon Hardenburgh of White Lake, who attended MSD from 1963-65 and whose family is connected to the school dating back to the 1860s, said he worries about what happens to the school after the proposed 30 year lease ends.
"I would prefer the lease to be 100 years," said Hardenburgh, 53. "Maybe it needs to be a permanent lease."
Sanderson said it's unlikely a bank would approve a longer lease than the 30-year proposal.
"The state is going to be working with the bank to see if it's a 30, a 20 or even a 5-year lease," he said.
He said any contract would include measures that prevent the new owner of the property from renting the building to another entity once the lease is up.
"They're not going to be able to kick us out," he said.
He said the state is committed to keeping the school open for a long time.
"I've attended a lot of meetings," he said. "There is a lot of support here. They see a need for the MSD to stay here for a long time... Anything can change, of course, but I see a commitment and I see that the legislature is going to support this and MSD will be here."
Freida Morrison, president of the Michigan School for the Deaf Alumni Association, said worries over the future of the school persist and that support for the plan in the Deaf community varies.
"Currently, the Michigan economy is very bad," she said. "Perhaps in a few years it could be even worse. We're wondering if we'll lose everything... I have talked to my alumni and my community and I see three distinct groups. The first group is very angry. They don't want anything sold — at all. The second group doesn't really like the idea, but they understand it and are willing to accept it and want to make sure that the new building will meet the students' needs. And the other group is OK with the plan."
Morrison said she isn't sure how many are in each group. No one at the meeting expressed outright opposition to the proposal.
Alumni also raised questions during the meeting about preservation of various items of historic and sentimental significance on campus.
Hardenburgh asked that the "upside-down tree" on campus not be cut down during renovations.
The strange, mangled tree has stood in front of Fay Hall for decades.
The story in Hardenburgh's family is that when it was planted in the 1940s, a prankster pulled the small tree out of the ground, turned it over and stuck it back in.
"It was a prank," he said. "Somebody had planted a new tree and somebody flipped it. And it fought and fought and grew and its still there."
His uncle Ted Moorhous, 85, has his own fond memories of the school.
He remembers climbing up the wall of Fay Hall to reach the third floor window that led to his room when he'd return to the dorm late at night as a student in the 1940s.
"I'd go to the movies and the door would be locked but I could get in through the window," he said, laughing outside the deteriorating building as he pointed out how he'd scale the front wall.
Moorhous doesn't mind the planned changes for MSD.
"I think it may be time for a change," he said. "It needs to be updated."
Michigan School for the Deaf chief administrator David Sanderson said he expects a plan to sell and renovate the MSD campus to go forward as he addressed a crowd of alumni Thursday evening.
Members of the Deaf community offered feedback on the plan and made requests ranging from pushing for a longer lease on a proposed new school to preserving the "upside-down tree" that stands in front of Fay Hall.
Sanderson said he expects a contract to soon be signed between the state, which owns the Miller Road property, and private investor Lurvey White Ventures, which would build a new school and lease it to MSD under the proposal.
The deal could also involve selling the historic Fay Hall to Powers Catholic High School.
Powers officials have not confirmed involvement in the negotiations, but Sanderson said the deal would still go forward even without the private school, which has been looking to move from its Mt. Morris Township location for years and has considered the MSD campus as an option.
Once a contract is signed, Sanderson said, the parties will begin seeking support from the legislature, which will have to approve any transfer of land.
Some in the crowd of about 120 in the Thelma Heck Service Building raised concerns over the future of the school if it no longer owns the land.
Richard Etkie of Waterford, who is deaf and has many family members who have attended MSD, was one of several at the meeting who expressed worry over whether future state funding for the school will be enough to keep paying for a lease.
"My concern is, of course, money," said Etkie. "Hopefully it will be supported. We don't know what's going to happen."
Jon Hardenburgh of White Lake, who attended MSD from 1963-65 and whose family is connected to the school dating back to the 1860s, said he worries about what happens to the school after the proposed 30 year lease ends.
"I would prefer the lease to be 100 years," said Hardenburgh, 53. "Maybe it needs to be a permanent lease."
Sanderson said it's unlikely a bank would approve a longer lease than the 30-year proposal.
"The state is going to be working with the bank to see if it's a 30, a 20 or even a 5-year lease," he said.
He said any contract would include measures that prevent the new owner of the property from renting the building to another entity once the lease is up.
"They're not going to be able to kick us out," he said.
He said the state is committed to keeping the school open for a long time.
"I've attended a lot of meetings," he said. "There is a lot of support here. They see a need for the MSD to stay here for a long time... Anything can change, of course, but I see a commitment and I see that the legislature is going to support this and MSD will be here."
Freida Morrison, president of the Michigan School for the Deaf Alumni Association, said worries over the future of the school persist and that support for the plan in the Deaf community varies.
"Currently, the Michigan economy is very bad," she said. "Perhaps in a few years it could be even worse. We're wondering if we'll lose everything... I have talked to my alumni and my community and I see three distinct groups. The first group is very angry. They don't want anything sold — at all. The second group doesn't really like the idea, but they understand it and are willing to accept it and want to make sure that the new building will meet the students' needs. And the other group is OK with the plan."
Morrison said she isn't sure how many are in each group. No one at the meeting expressed outright opposition to the proposal.
Alumni also raised questions during the meeting about preservation of various items of historic and sentimental significance on campus.
Hardenburgh asked that the "upside-down tree" on campus not be cut down during renovations.
The strange, mangled tree has stood in front of Fay Hall for decades.
The story in Hardenburgh's family is that when it was planted in the 1940s, a prankster pulled the small tree out of the ground, turned it over and stuck it back in.
"It was a prank," he said. "Somebody had planted a new tree and somebody flipped it. And it fought and fought and grew and its still there."
His uncle Ted Moorhous, 85, has his own fond memories of the school.
He remembers climbing up the wall of Fay Hall to reach the third floor window that led to his room when he'd return to the dorm late at night as a student in the 1940s.
"I'd go to the movies and the door would be locked but I could get in through the window," he said, laughing outside the deteriorating building as he pointed out how he'd scale the front wall.
Moorhous doesn't mind the planned changes for MSD.
"I think it may be time for a change," he said. "It needs to be updated."