Getting voters to approve a countywide enhancement millage is a hard job that requires a lot of work from local schools districts, an Eastern Michigan University professor says.
“The problem is we have donor districts. That’s what typically kills it. (Enhancement millages) are a hard sell. It’s not something that’s likely to pass without a lot of hard work from districts,” said William Price, a professor of leadership and counseling in the School of Education.
In so-called "donor districts," some of the money raised by taxing property owners isn't spent in their home districts - the money is funneled to other districts in the county. For instance, Ann Arbor property owners would pay $16 million toward the millage, but the school district would receive only $11 million of that.
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Related Stories • District spending a hot topic in Washtenaw County enhancement millage debate
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Price talked recently with AnnArbor.com about school funding. An edited transcript follows.
Q: Give us a little bit of history about enhancement millages for schools.
A: Enhancement millages began subsequent to Proposal A. When the state took away local control over millages, they got some flack. They gave school districts three years - 1994, 1995, 1996, to go to the voters with an enhancement millage of up to 3 mills, for up to three years. Some districts used the opportunity to buy technology. Some districts used the opportunity to ask for updating the school bus fleet.
Some went for 3 mills. Some went for 1 mill. Lots didn’t go at all.
After 1996, individual district couldn’t ask for enhancement millages, but the entire (intermediate school district) could. Its intent was to introduce a way to equalize funding, at least regionally.
Q: Why was the shift made in 1994 to Proposal A and state funding of education?
A: There were several problems, including a growing inequity in how much school districts had in funding. You had districts like Bloomfield Hills that got $10,300 per student and then Onaway that had $3,200. There were several proposals floating around the state. There were flaws in all of them. They all required the redistribution of wealth.
Q: How did Proposal A come into being law?
A: (U.S. Senator) Debbie Stabenow floated an idea that would repeal the school property tax. It passed. The legislature had to meet late into the year to come up with a way to replace it. On Christmas Eve, a plan was agreed to that would have called for increasing the state income tax, having a 12 mill tax on residential property (to fund schools) and another 12 mills on non-homestead property (to fund schools).
Proposal A was an alternative to that. Instead of increasing the income tax, the sale tax was increased from 4 percent to 6 percent and the 2 percent dedicated to schools. Property tax (for schools) was set at 6 mills and an additional 18 mills on non-homestead.
Q: After Proposal A passed, have there been any attempts to reform it?
A: There has been a lot of talk, but no real action.
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or 734-623-2534.
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