A Saginaw Board of Education proposal to save most of the Saginaw High School building still is on the table.
Up to half of the structure will be occupied by a revived middle school in September when the new Saginaw United High opens along the west riverbank, but the other half could face demolition in years ahead.
The school board’s plan would fill the other half with:
- A multi-purpose agency for residents to take care of service needs with one stop, rather than traveling here and there across town.
- A fitness center comparable to Saginaw Township’s Center Courts across from Heritage High School.
There was a tentative agreement for $750,000 apiece between school leaders, city officials and the county board in 2022, making use of federal funds. However, the handshake pact soon fell apart.
First, county commissioners from the suburbs and small outlying towns asserted that Saginaw city, now with less than 25 percent of the county population, should not be receiving major funds from the county’s ARPA money. They also chopped First Ward Center and the CAC, even though CAC is a countywide agency with headquarters on the city’s east border.
Next, the City Council dropped out over information that the school district’s proposed paperwork was out of order. Board of Ed sources take issue with this depiction.
The three bodies conduct joint meetings on occasion several times per year, but not monthly as in the past, and so cooperative matters such as the Saginaw High preservation proposal rarely are discussed.
The schools, the city and the council all have earmarked most of their record-setting federal funds aimed at helping communities recover from the covid pandemic, but all have attained millions in interest revenue while monies remain unexpended.
Unlike Saginaw High, Arthur Hill High’s future is more solid as the home of the relocated SASA, Saginaw Arts and Sciences, teaming with the new Handley School to create a combined campus for gifted and talented programs.
Bay County is using $9 million in ARPA monies to convert a building on Wilder Road into a multi-purpose center, similar to the proposal for Saginaw High.
