KALAMAZOO, MI -- School districts across Kalamazoo County will continue receiving additional aid from local taxpayers after voters on Tuesday approved the renewal of a regional education millage first passed in 2005.
The proposal from the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency passed easily with strong support from voters Tuesday, May 5, according to unofficial election results from Kalamazoo County.
The 1.5-mill “enhancement millage,” which raises additional funds for local school districts to supplement other state and local dollars funding their operation, was approved by about 65% of Kalamazoo County voters. A total of 27,729 votes were cast in favor of the millage renewal and 14,525 votes were cast against it, according to the unofficial results.
School leaders say the millage is crucial to the help local districts operate. In Kalamazoo Public Schools alone, the millage provides $4.6 million annually, interim Superintendent Gary Start said.
Dave Campbell, KRESA superintendent, said he is grateful to the community for its support.
Despite the governor’s state-at-home order which has put people out of work and forced voting to be remote, the residents of Kalamazoo County believe in the importance of education, Campbell said.
“We’re very pleased,” Campbell said. “In these times, we’re so grateful."
Under the governor’s order, registered voters were encouraged to vote by mail Tuesday in order to avoid gathering in large crowds and risk spreading the coronavirus. Local clerks offices accepted in-person voting until 8 p.m. Tuesday for anyone who missed the deadline to mail in their ballot.
Campbell thanked voters for their support and the local clerks who put in extra work to make Tuesday’s election happen despite the circumstances.
“They kept democracy open during the stay-at-home order,” Campbell said.
The millage is a “very important funding source” for local districts, he said. Schools across the state could see “substantial” cuts in state funding because of the coronavirus pandemic, and to lose the enhancement millage in addition would have been “beyond devastating” for local education, Campbell said.
Renewal of the millage will not increase the tax rate for property owners.
The 1.5-mill property tax will generate about $12.5 million in 2020 for the following school districts: Augusta Academy, Climax-Scotts Community Schools, Comstock Public Schools, Evergreen Academy, Forest Academy, Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools, Gull Lake Community Schools, Kalamazoo Covenant Academy, School District of the City of Kalamazoo, Lakeside Charter School – Kalamazoo, Oakland Academy, Paramount Charter Academy, Parchment School District, Portage Public Schools, Schoolcraft Community Schools, Vicksburg Community Schools and Youth Advancement Academy.
The tax was originally adopted in 2005, and most recently renewed for three years in 2017.
Also on MLive:
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