Millage proposal supporting Oakland County public schools to appear on Aug. 4 ballot

Inflation has left Oakland County's public schools struggling to keep up this year. In response, Oakland County Public Schools have joined together in asking the community to increase school funding to fight inflation.

During the Aug. 4 election, Oakland County residents will vote on the Oakland County Regional Enhancement Millage. The millage is 1.5 mills and will last for six years. That means each school will receive about $781 per student per year, totaling over $4,000 per student.

The funding from the millage will be distributed equally across all public schools in the county, unlike separate school district proposals. About half of Michigan's counties have already voted on similar funding, meant to increase per-pupil funding for public schools.

The Berkley School District is just one of the districts in Oakland County that could benefit from the millage passing. Berkley Schools Superintendent Scott Francis said the millage is necessary due to rising school operating costs due to inflation.

"We felt it was necessary to ask the voters to consider this because over the years, school costs continue to rise, and inflation outpaces what we receive from the state," Francis said. "Our main revenue comes from the state, and it's been very challenging to keep up with the rising costs and to pay competitive salaries for our staff." 

A regional enhancement millage is the only way districts can increase per-pupil funding for schools. Per-pupil funding allows districts to allocate funds differently based on their unique needs, unlike state funding, where the state tells schools how to spend the money.

In the Troy School District, per-pupil funding would be best spent on student resources, such as student wellness programs or career and technical education programs, according to Troy Education Association President Jason Cichowicz. Keeping class sizes reasonable and retaining top teachers in the district are also top-of-mind issues for Cichowicz.

"The bottom line is that school funding has not kept up with the pace of inflation, and this has left our schools underfunded and struggling to meet the needs of our students," Cichowicz said. "As a good teacher, what we do in our classrooms is we assess the needs of our students, and we say, 'What does this student need to find success?' We'd be able to use this money in that same capacity." 

Oakland County residents can view how the proposed millage will impact their property taxes by visiting the Oakland Enhancement Millage website and using the estimated tax impact calculator and the Oakland County Property Gateway to find the taxable value of their property.