Oakland County's Republican Party chair is urging voters to reject the 1.5-mill school enhancement millage on the Tuesday, August 4 ballot, sharpening a debate that will cost Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills homeowners $225 a year on a $300,000 home.
Vince Patrick, the Oakland County GOP chair, told Bridge Michigan there is "no clear vision of what it's going for." He pressed for specifics: what exactly will the money do, and how will it improve education?
His criticism echoes a concern raised by voters across the county. White Lake resident Janet Watson told WXYZ on July 22 that spending transparency worried her. "I think the millages keep going up and up and up," she said.
As we reported July 22, the six-year millage would raise an estimated $125.8 million in its first year and distribute $781 per student to all 28 public school districts and eligible charter schools in the Oakland Schools Intermediate School District, including Birmingham Public Schools and Bloomfield Hills Schools.
What the money can cover
Unlike bonds or sinking funds, which must go toward specific capital projects, enhancement millage dollars can pay for day-to-day operating costs such as teacher salaries. Bridge Michigan, citing the Oakland Schools website, reported that possible uses include boosting teacher pay, maintaining staff-to-student ratios, and improving safety, but that "actual use would be determined by each school district."
That flexibility is exactly what critics object to. Patrick wants line-item commitments before asking taxpayers to open their wallets.
Berkley Superintendent Scott Francis said his district has committed to spending 90% of any enhancement funds on teacher recruitment and retention. The Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education voted 6-0 on February 23 to place the millage on the ballot, according to board meeting records.
Statewide context
Oakland County is the only district in Michigan asking for an enhancement millage on the August 4 ballot, according to Bridge Michigan citing Gongwer News Service. It would not be the first. Nine other intermediate school districts already levy one, including neighboring Wayne and Macomb counties.
About 44% of Michigan public school students already attend schools that benefit from an enhancement millage. If Oakland voters approve the measure, that figure would jump to nearly 60%, according to Craig Thiel, research director at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
Michigan school districts are set to receive $10,300 per student in state per-pupil funding for the upcoming school year. Don Wotruba, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, called the enhancement millage "the only game in town" for districts seeking help with operational costs.
The proposal appears on the back of the August 4 primary ballot as a nonpartisan question, separate from partisan races for governor, U.S. Senate, and state legislature. Polls close at 8 p.m.
