DETROIT - Voters in Metro Detroit turned down several school millage requests Tuesday, while those in the Lansing area approved them, according to media reports.
The Detroit News reported that a $68.4 million bond issue in Macomb County's Fitzgerald Public Schools was defeated, as were a 1.59-mill request in Wayne County's Huron School District and two requests in Romulus Community Schools. Most of the requests were for technology, building upgrades or new schools.
Huron school board Vice President Jack Richert told The News, "We're just going to have to rethink how we're going to approach the future."
In a 285-206 vote, residents in the Harper Woods School District did approve a five-year, 0.5-mill measure that the district says will cover losses due to declining property values.
In the Lansing area, voters in public school districts in St. Johns, Stockbridge, Portland, Ionia County and Bath all approved millage requests, while Charlotte voters turned down a request there, the Lansing State Journal reported.
St. Johns Public Schools voters approved a $64.3 million proposal for high school improvements, new buses and technology, the Journal reported. Ionia voters said yes to 1 mill for vocational education, while Bath voters renewed a 1-mill sinking fund and Stockbridge and Portland voters approved an 18-mill operating renewal on non-homestead properties, according to the Journal.
SOURCES:
Lansing State Journal, "Area
voters OK school funding," May 5, 2010
The Detroit News, "3 suburban districts lose bids for improvement financing," May 5, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A
Michigan School Money Primer: Local Property Taxes by Type," May 30, 2007
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