ESCANABA — With just days left before the November election, Bay College is working hard to get the message out about a millage proposal the college has put forth that will appear on the ballot. However, the way the message has been presented online and in mailings has some of the proposal’s detractors up in arms.

Much of the buzz revolves around a series of posts made by Bay College President Laura Coleman on a Facebook page called “Vote NO for Bay College’s Millage Proposal on Nov 5th” using a Facebook profile with a fake name. The posts, which appeared tied to the name “Lee Knapp” and later “Laura Knapp,” drew attention due to their pro-millage content and the poster’s obvious familiarity with Bay College’s inner workings.

Multiple members of the page speculated the account — which had no profile picture — was a fake, with one member going so far as to claim the mystery account must be owned by either Coleman or Bay College Board Member Tom Butch. On Oct. 21, a few days after the postings from Lee Knapp began and two days after the post speculating the account was run by Coleman, a post from the page appeared confirming the suspicions. The post included a screenshot of the personalized url for Lee Knapp’s profile page, which included the phrase “laura.coleman.”

Coleman confirmed she owned the account in posts made later that day.

“It was a rookie, stupid mistake, but had I not done it the way I did, it wouldn’t have gotten done at all and no one would have that — a lot of those people would not have any access to that information,” Coleman told the Daily Press. “It doesn’t make it right, but I wasn’t going to build a page with my name on it for something that was going to last for just a few weeks — and I don’t know how to build a dang page, I’m sure I could figure it out — but … it was a Friday night and I was pretty tired and I just wanted to get some information out there.”

Following the admission that she was Lee Knapp, Coleman made multiple posts apologizing for using the false name and explaining the Lee Knapp page was a private Facebook account for communicating with her grandchildren. She also stated the page was set up by her grandson years prior to the recent postings.

“My responses on this page were all factual pieces of information. I should have started a brand new facebook page with my name. I apologize for not identifying myself,” she wrote in one post.

According to Coleman, the board has been notified of her actions. She also noted that if she were a more novice community college president without a solid rapport, her actions on Facebook may have cost her her position.

“They (the Bay College Board) know me, they know that I’m an honest person, they know that I don’t do thing frivolously, and they know that I communicate with my grandkids on Facebook because I show them all the time,” she said.

Nearly all of the posts made by Coleman as Lee Knapp have been removed from the page. Coleman is unsure whether the posts were removed by the page moderators or if they were removed while she was adjusting her privacy settings, but she said she did not remove the the posts intentionally. She also noted the posts may have appeared to some users as “Laura Knapp” as she made adjustments to her privacy settings.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t understand the mechanics of Facebook. So I was trying anything and everything I could to try to get it out of the public domain because, again, my family does not need that kind of attention,” Coleman told the Daily Press.

The posts themselves covered a wide range of issues raised by those in opposition to the millage proposal. One series of posts revolved around an event held for Bay College students, which featured free pizza and information about the proposal. Some members of the page raised concerns over the pizza, which they viewed as a bribe, while others took aim at the fact most Bay College students are not property owners and therefore would not directly fund the millage if passed.

In one lengthy reply, Coleman, as Lee Knapp, argued politicians did not buy votes by providing food at events, that students who rent subsidize taxes through their rent payments, and that 18 year olds were adults who could make decisions and be involved in the political process.

“They were asked to be active in the political system because we need fresh voices and insights. 18 year olds vote. No one has to own property to vote. Women get to vote. All races get to vote. Are you seriously suggesting that only property owners should vote?” the now-deleted post read in part.

When asked by the Daily Press whether she believed it was appropriate to conflate the issues of property ownership and taxation with racism and sexism, Coleman referenced her own history with activism and her strong feelings on the issue of voters rights.

“It’s a really important piece for me and so, it just was a button. They pushed a button, and it’s important that everyone vote, and they need to be able to vote when they’re 18,” she said.

Users on the page also raised concerns about the recently-launched sports program at Bay. While Coleman believed most of the posters simply didn’t believe the program was profitable, if they did, they needed to realize the program was not raising the same amount the 0.8924 total mills proposed would bring in for the college.

“Athletics does not bring in $800,000 a year, and so the athletics can’t possibly pay for all of this,” said Coleman, referencing the proposed capital improvement plan that includes roughly $11.5 million improvements. With interest, the improvements will cost the college $16 million over 20 years.

Functionally, the college is seeking two millages: a 0.7 mill (70 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) increase for the capital improvements and a “Headlee override” that will restore the college’s current operating millage to the level approved by voters before the Headlee Amendment rolled back the amount collected. The override represents a 0.1924 mill increase (19 cents per $1,000 of taxable value), which will bring in an additional $230,000 for college operations.

Coleman’s comments on Facebook are not the only issue facing the college as it tries to get the word out about its proposal. A mailing paid for by the college and sent to members of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce recently also has raised questions with voters, as Michigan campaign finance law forbids the use of public funds for certain types of communication during the 60 days before an election.

Specifically, Sec. 57 (3) of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act of 1976 reads, “Except for an election official in the performance of his or her duties under the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 to 168.992, a public body, or a person acting for a public body, shall not, during the period 60 days before an election in which a local ballot question appears on a ballot, use public funds or resources for communication by means of radio, television, mass mailing, or prerecorded telephone message if that communication references a local ballot question and is targeted to the relevant electorate where the local ballot question appears on the ballot.”

According to Coleman, the mailing — which does not urge voters to vote in any specific way — was paid for by the college within 60 days of the election. However, she said the college has been very careful to follow campaign law and the mailing had been approved by the college’s attorneys at Thrun Law Firm, P.C., prior to being sent to Chamber members. Thrun specializes in providing legal services to the public sector and is the same legal counsel that approved the millage ballot language.