This article originally appeared in The Detroit News May 13, 2025. 

Midland voters clobbered a school bond proposal on May 6 with a stunning 68% “no” vote. This in a town strong on civic pride that normally approves local school measures.

Midland Public Schools Board of Education President Phil Rausch and Superintendent Penny Miller-Nelson expressed their disappointment. “Over the next several weeks, we will review the results of this election and consider our options for moving forward as a school community,” they said.

What just happened?

The Midland Public Schools had proposed a 25-year $285 million bond. The funding was to be used, among other things, for two new school buildings and renovations of existing buildings. The school district estimated that for a $300,000 home, the annual cost would be $487.50.

Midland is hardly a bastion of anti-tax Tea Party voters; residents there usually support local school measures. Last May, 82% of voters approved a 10-year operating millage for the school district. In May 2023, 71% of Midland County approved an educational service agency millage renewal. In August 2022, the same voters approved a new ESA bond by 58% of the vote. So last week’s no vote was especially vigorous.

Not only that, but voter turnout in Midland was high for a May election — 37% of active voters. Compare that to Midland’s 14% turnout in May 2023 or 18% in May 2024. A few years ago Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the state’s average turnout for local May elections is 12%. So Midland voters tripled the normal turnout while rejecting the public school bond.

Midland’s bond failure is part of a larger statement from voters. According to Michigan Information & Research Service, more than half of local school bonding measures failed last week. Typically, says MIRS, school bonds pass 69% of the time.

The Midland school proposal encountered something rare for local tax hikes: organized opposition. A handful of Midland residents, who often attend school board meetings, began asking questions.

“We believe there were too many facts not presented and made available to the public,” said Renita Bonadies. She and a group of concerned citizens formed the Committee for Midland Students and Taxpayers, which ran for two months and collected $32,220. Local residents and property owners contributed, along with Michigan Tax Fighters, an organization run by former Republican lawmaker Pete Lund.

The “no” committee sent a mailing to voters, launched a website and held community events to raise questions about the Midland proposal. Bright yellow yard signs warning of a “half billion property tax debt” sprouted across the city.

The campaign also criticized the district’s plan to incur long-term debt for school buses and devices for students, which would necessitate loan payments long after the buses and tablets are out of use.

“It’s the Bobby Bonilla of school bonds,” a Midland resident told me. Bonilla’s last at-bat for the New York Mets was in 1999, but the club will make annual payments on an overpriced contract until 2035.

Local school funding votes are usually one-sided affairs with no organized opposition. The Midland experience suggests that voters appreciate a robust conversation. Pete Lund agrees. He told me his group, which works with residents to fight local tax hikes, has saved taxpayers $2 billion.

Dave Romenesko was the clerk of the Midland “no” committee. He urged local school leaders to focus on educational outcomes. “Their business is competent education,” Romenesko said, “not shiny new schools.”

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