Do I Vote Yes or No on the Special Education Millage Nov. 8?
Before heading to the polls, read what supporters and opponents of the millage have to say.
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It’s decision time in Macomb Township.
The polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and voters have 13 hours to pass or reject a proposed special education millage, the proceeds of which are slated to fund special education programs in Macomb County's 21 school districts and the Macomb Intermediate School District.
The 1.2-mill property tax proposal, which is around $100 per year for local taxpayers, is expected to raise $27.5 million, or $206 per pupil across the county when first levied in 2011. According to the MISD, this is approximately one-fourth of the $785 per student funding local schools are losing annually as compared to 2008.
In Chippewa Valley alone, 1,793 students, or 11 percent of the district, currently benefit from special education programs and services–a $15 million a year budget cost. While $9 million of the $15 million is funded by state and federal grants, the remaining $6 million must come from the district's general education fund.
With the passage of this millage, Chippewa Valley Superintendent Ron Roberts said the district would be able to offset some of this $6 million cost, and use the funds that would normally have been used for special education for general education programs.
"If the proposal doesn’t pass, we will have an increased burden to provide services to students currently served by MISD programs," Roberts said, in a previous interview.
However, Macomb Township resident and Republican activist Rob Montilla does not share this view.
“This tax increase is a bad idea and a way the education special interests have found to offset the revenue cuts from the state budget,” Montilla wrote in a recent blog post. “There is no clear or defined purpose for this tax increase but the proponents of the measure are hoping to catch voters unaware during an off-year election for most of the county.
“If this passes, this will set precedent for how you the taxpayer will continue to be responsible for these districts’ lack of fiscal discipline.”
In the first three years of the proposed 20-year millage, Chippewa Valley, as one of the largest districts in the county, would receive approximately $3.3 million annually. For the remaining 17 years, it would receive around $1.7 million annually. Because the millage is designed to support MISD programs first, districts would receive less funding in the last 17 years, but county students would still have the benefit of MISD programs.
According to MISD statistics, one in every seven students in the county receive some form of special education–be it speech and language therapy or classroom services.
The 1.2-mill increase equates to $1.20 per thousand dollars of taxable value, meaning a homeowner with $59,630 taxable value would pay 20 cents per day, or $71.56 per year.
Homeowners can calculate their exact cost with a special program on the MISD website.
Let’s Put it to a Vote
What: Macomb Intermediate School District Regional Enhancement Special Education Operating Millage Proposal
When: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Where: Check Patch’s interactive map to find your precinct location.
Ballot Proposal Language
Shall the limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes which may be imposed on taxable property in the Macomb Intermediate School District, Michigan, be increased by 1.2 mill ($1.20 per thousand dollars of taxable value) for a period of twenty (20) years, 2011 to 2030, inclusive, as new additional millage to provide operating funds to enhance other state and local funding for local school district special education operating purposes? It is estimated that 1.2 mill would raise approximately $27.5 million when first levied in 2011. Yes or No.
Why Vote Yes?
According to the MISD, if this proposal passes, 100 percent of the funds raised would stay in Macomb County and go toward special education services in local districts, in turn relieving the pressure on districts’ general operating budgets and freeing up general operating money to educate all students.
In Chippewa Valley, L’Anse Creuse, Utica and New Haven, teachers and other staff have already taken wage cuts, wage freezes, and reductions in benefits to control costs.
The MISD and local districts also save money by sharing career prep courses, local and center-based special education programs, common student information systems, financial, personnel and payroll services, and by participating in bulk purchasing of technology, buses, diesel fuel, maintenance, and classroom supplies, according to the MISD.
Why Vote No?
The Republican Committee of Northern Macomb County recently passed a resolution to not support the millage proposal for these reasons:
“In a struggling economy where families are still working hard to make ends meet, this is not the time to discuss a tax increase of any kind. We call on the school districts of the county to instead look for ways to manage costs and streamline services in order to better accommodate the needs for all of Macomb County’s students.”
Kate
7:51 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
Interesting, this article is biased because you quote someone who is opposed, but do not quote someone who is for. Also, realize that you have not given the facts. PT, speech and OT have decreased from (2) 15-minute sessions per week to (1) 15 minute session every 4-6 weeks. Also, they have to shut the school down now 1 Friday per month. These changes have happened over 2 years. I am a parent of a special needs child and it's funny how the writer never includes the parents, only stupid politicians who are so far removed from the situation, probably more interested in his wining and dining experience. Thanks writer for this very one-sided, tid bit that does not give the whole picture. This article has the credibility of a tabloid. Vote yes to support the MISD. Instead of school, my child will have to get these services from health insurance, so the millage is the most cost-effective solution in the long-run.
Jewelz4USA
11:54 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
Biased??? Yeah towards the vote yes crowd. Tell me why is it that I should have to pay for these services? I don't have a child that receives any benefit from any program offered through the MISD. And they are always asking for additional money. I have a friend with a special needs child and she has informed me that without the millage she will have to pay for summer care for the child. I have to pay for child care while I work...what makes her or your child more important than mine. I've told everyone I know to get out and vote no, your child's needs are not my responsibility above general educational needs
Frank Cusumano
10:09 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
Well, if it doesn't pass, I can guarantee you one thing. The Superintendents and the School Boards are going to punish the parents by cutting bus service, sports, foreign language, everything EXCEPT the main cost drivers of teachers' health insurance and pensions. To be honest, the School Boards CAN'T CUT the pensions. Can the teachers take a little less expensive health insurance? Can they take insurance that pays for 16 therapeutic massages per year rather than 32? On a house that is $200K, this millage - if passed - is going to cost $240 per year per household per year for 20 years. That is money that can't be used to pay a cell phone bill, a gas bill or an electric bill. I don't know about everybody else, but many hard working people with children in these schools in my subdivision are facing foreclosure. I think that it is about time for EVERYBODY to live under the new paradigm of "make do with less, or make do without." Thank Free Trade, and your politicians in Washington DC. for your declining standard of living.
JR
10:37 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Very well said. I was wondering who was coming out of the last school board meeting in a Bentley.
Philis DeSaele
11:00 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
We need to go in and reorganize all schools, local and the MISD. Follow the money by going to the website below to see who is funding much of the pro stuff coming out of the schools to
http://campaignfinance.macombcountymi.gov/IndexedDocs/48312623.PDF
Now tell me who you think will be the real beneficiary of this millage?
Jenny Whalen
10:45 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
Check out what readers are saying on Facebook, too:
Wendy Cummings Titran: Seriously???? We all need to vote YES! By the way, it is NOT just for special education, but for ALL kids. Read the details and decide on your own...but consider the source as well. About $100 or so for the year is nothing compared to wha...t these kids have already lost. This minimal increase will help so much. YES. YES. YES. Remember people move out of areas that have lower quality education...I don't want us to lose even more property values. We'll surely lose a LOT more than a mere hundred bucks if property values don't turn around. YES. YES.
Sheila Walsh Dettloff: Thanks for this clear summary of the proposal. I had been undecided but now I know I'll vote yes.
Andy Dobbie: Remember, special Ed is Federally mandated, so cuts to schools disproportionately effect general Ed classrooms. This proposal supports special Ed mandates so general funds can go towards other worthwhile district programs.
Jewelz4USA
12:00 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
BULL! If you think that my normal child will see any benefit, you are living in your own little world. First not all schools will see anything. My wife teaches...her school will not benefit 1 dime. And didn't we, or you, pass a millage for them several years back? Where is that money going. It's no surprise that the MISD loves when children are labeled ADD, etc. More money out of general ed, where the majority of children are grouped. Since $100 is nothing compared to what the kids have lost, why don't you shell it out for me and everyone else. What does it calculate to? Was it 40+%? How is that a "minimal increase"? People are going to flee the entire Macomb County schools because we don't support some of the ridiculous programs MISD offers. Geez having to get care for your special needs child during the summer is so tough. Guess what, the rest of us have to do it, why should you be any different.
JR
10:42 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
NO NO NO People without children, or without children in school should not have this burden. My friends and neighbors are struggling as it is. The parents should push for cost saving measures so that we don't keep getting stuck with the bill.
Jenny Whalen
10:46 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
And the opinions keep coming!
Jennifer Kallioinen Maas: Talk to an MISD employee. The funding isn't for us, it's for the kids and for their education. An education that they deserve, special needs or not. MISD does not recieve funding from your local school district taxes. Decide for yourself, but remember, these kids have been placed in these schools for a reason.
Marianne Weiss: I want to ask one question; Did you read the actual wording for yourself or are you relying on others to explain their emotional pleas to you?
Connie Cuellar: I read the proposal. Voting YES.
Bleeding Michigan
11:36 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
The Facts on MISD MILLAGE INCREASE
AMOUNT: This is a 40.8 % Increase
-IMPORTANT- Nothing in the vote eliminates the 2.9 Mills that are currently collected for the MISD.
-WHEN IS THE LAST TIME THAT ANY OF THE READERS RECEIVED A 40.8% PAY RAISE?
DISTRITUTION: “Who gets my money?”
-Initiated by the 21 public school superintendents in Macomb County.
-If passed the MISD will distribute this money to the 21 county school districts. The MISD will get a tiny slice of the pie,
-Nothing prevents the MISD from the REDISTRIBUTION of tax monies from the spending responsible to financially inept districts.
20 Years - Too long a period
-Name one district that has a 20 year financial plan.
-Name one district that has a published a 5 year plan.
-School districts do NOT have the business savvy to look that far ahead.
-In 20 years, your eight year old child will have been out of school for TEN years.
BUSINESS INTELLELECT:
-Schools do not live within their means like the average individual or business.
-Even in depressed times schools spent taxpayers monies rather than putting it away for rainy days.
- NOTE: Even with teacher pay freezes, the teachers in the public school districts are still getting their "Step raises". That is not a pay freeze!
- It is the TAXPAYER that pays for Benefits that teachers do no pay. So YOU are paying for their rich pension plans and a majority of the Health care plans.
Brian Hadfield
11:41 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
What gives you the right to generalize that schools mismanage their funds? It's amazing how you, likely not involved in education in any way, have this nebulous idea that they understand how everything works (or doesn't) with schools.
Did you know that schools that have rainy-day savings, which IS a wise thing to have from a business standpoint, can be penalized by the state? The state can come in and take that money away?
You do realize that the state issues the funds for schools, annually, AFTER the school year has begun--much to the consternation of those who try and budget their expenditures (recall how the state handles its eleventh hour budget situation mid-year). AND, just when the districts think they know where they stand, the state can announce mid-year that they're withdrawing funds (hundreds per kid).
Who, exactly, isn't handling funding/budgeting correctly in these situations?
On a different note, teachers are already taking salary cuts, freezes, and healthcare concessions. These are people who are educating our children, most with 8+ years of college, and whom are required to continually take and pay for classes to keep their teaching certificates. Comparing state-funded, non-profit, children-centered teaching to a for-profit, privately owned, business will always be impossibly flawed.
Bleeding Michigan
11:42 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
I see in this past weeks Macomb Dailey that the Utica teachers got their Step salary raises back... so much for pay freezes in economically hard times.
If Superintendents and school boards can not manage their finances, I am sure that Gov. Snyder can help with by assigning an Emergency Manager for your school district.
Oh My.... That should get your attention
Brian Hadfield
9:51 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Some districts allow staff to continue to get steps, but not the pay; a lot of good that does in the short term. Consider how many 4-year college professionals come out of school with all their loans, first-year obligations and classes to take, and are stuck with the pay of a glorified secretary for who knows how long. Stop bashing all the teachers who are extremely hard working professionals who have suddenly become everyone's scapegoats. Certainly there are bigger fish to fry.
Regarding funding...many districts in Macomb receive the absolute LEAST amount of funding (about $7K/pupil) from the state--less than some of the charters! Other districts are receiving twice that amount (Thanks, Proposal A). When the state decides to whip away hundreds more per child from these already struggling districts, how is that mismanagement of funds on the school district's part? Get your facts straight. You'll also be wiping away that contentious grin if a Manager does take over your school district: It's not the least bit attractive to prospective home buyers or the community's reputation.
JS
1:00 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Take a long hard look at the salarys of some of the employees of these school systems, then you will know why to vote NO on Tuesday.
Brian Hadfield
10:00 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Exactly whose salaries are you talking about? Administrators? Teachers? Certainly not the teachers?! If you're knocking the administrators' salaries, let's consider what professional, with a Master's degree or a doctorate, in charge of multiple buildings, hundreds of staff, and thousands of children--with all the responsibilities put upon them by anyone from parents to politicians--would take the job if they made $50K. Who would want that responsibility? With responsibility comes salary in just about every profession. What would you have them make, which would compensate for the tremendous tasks and responsibility to stakeholders (children, teachers, secretaries, parents, the community at large, etc.) on every front (from education, safety/discipline, curriculum, and general building management), which would make it worth doing?
JR
10:44 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Voting no! A 20 year tax increase (even at 100.00 per year) is rediculous. People in my neighborhood can't afford to take care of their own kids right now and $100 can buy winter coats, boots, and doctor bills. I can't see this passing if people actually read what they are signing up for. Please READ before you vote. I would rather give $100 a year to charity for 20 years, if I had it.
Brian Hadfield
10:04 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
It's funny how everyone is broke, but their kids are running around in $100 pairs of shoes and Abercrombie & Fitch (and Pink) clothing; yet, nobody can afford to help fund schools.
Dawn Wojciechowski Dameron
9:18 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I am the mother to a special needs child. My child is has a right to an appropriate education. Just like any other child. These services give him this opportunity. Speech Therapy is an education for him, just like Chemistry would be for another child. Physical Therapy is his gym class. His "classes" may be different, but for him, this is "general" education.
To those who want to punish the districts for poor planning by taking away from children. There are better ways to solve these issues. Why use my child as your way of making a point. I guess it's more convenient to make a point using those who can't fight back. I think the school district has much to learn about fiscal management. I plan to challenge them, but not at the expense of our children.
Those who receive Special Education services are so lucky. We get free summer child care! Let me tell you how lucky I am. My child will never get married, have children, say my name, or go to a school dance. For the record, I do not get free summer care. I pay twice as much because of my son's unique needs. I contribute a significant of money to the school every year to get basic supplies.
To those who feel my child is worthless and is not deserving of this . . . because of these services, my child can speak using sign language, can walk to me and has a chance at being a productive member of society. I don't might paying for your "normal" children and the services I will never use.
Brian Hadfield
9:37 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Well said. People made some very callous comments here today.
Shannon D.
10:00 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
For anyone who won't vote yes because they have a "normal" child in the school system, I certainly hope you're done having babies because you never know what your going to get.
Shannon D.
10:00 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sorry... "you're"